Why does this strike me as ominous?

english al jazeera:

China warship heads for Japan visit

The guided missile destroyer Shenzhen is to be open to visits by the public during its stay in Japan The guided missile destroyer Shenzhen is to be open to visits by the public during its stay in Japan A Chinese warship is sailing for Japan ahead of the first ever visit by the Chinese military to a Japanese port. The visit by the Shenzhen, a guided missile destroyer, comes amid growing signs of a thaw in the often icy relations between the two rival Asian powers. On Thursday, as the Shenzhen headed for Japan, Beijing confirmed that the Chinese president planned to make a state visit to Japan next year. The visit by Hu Jintao would be the first such trip by China's head of state in a decade. Cui Tiankai, China's newly-appointed ambassador to Japan, said Hu's trip would "certainly produce important and far-reaching consequences".