ABSTRACT
China's maritime relations with other countries continued at very low levels throughout most of the 1960s. Naval assistance to a few Asian, African, and Eastern European countries picked up late in the decade. China was hardly in a position to become a significant exporter of naval armaments in the 1960s. A Cuban naval delegation spent more than a month in China in 1964, traveling to a number of naval installations. China transferred 16 naval craft to its other Asian Communist neighbor, North Korea, in 1967-1968: 8 Shanghai and 8 Shantou class gunboats. China made no comprehensive policy statements on Law of the Sea issues during the 1960-1971 period. Ceremonial visits to China by foreign naval commanders or high-level delegations were rare during the 1960s. Foreign naval ships were forbidden passage, and commercial ships were allowed through only with prior permission.
