China to send Navy's hospital ship "Peace Ark" on South Pacific tour

Beijing [China], July 3 : Amid its growing quest to emerge as the global superpower, China is set to send its Navy's hospital ship called "Peace Ark" on a tour of the South Pacific, Al Jazeera reported.

However, the tour of "Peace Ark" comes at a time when Beijing has cut-throat competition with the United States (US) as well as its allies for influence in the region.

As per the official statement of the defence ministry, the 14,300-metric-tonne ship will call at Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor, providing medical assistance to Chinese citizens and residents.

The spokesman for the PLA Navy, senior Captain Liu Wensheng, said this will be the ninth Harmonious Mission voyage for the vessel, according to Al Jazeera.

"It is to present our image as a responsible big country," said Navy spokesperson Liu Wensheng in a statement.

In recent years, Beijing has strengthened connections with Pacific countries, some of which had official diplomatic links with Taiwan, prompting alarm in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as inside some of the countries themselves.

Last year, China inked a security treaty with the Solomon Islands and intends to establish similar links with other Pacific countries. According to its foreign minister, relations with the Solomon Islands can serve as a model. The US has increased its activity in the region in response to China's advances, thereafter.

According to China.org.cn, a state-run web portal of the People's Republic of China, the Navy's hospital ship, with a displacement of over 10,000 metric tons, has more than 100 medical staff working in 16 clinical and auxiliary departments. It harbours multiple operating rooms and nursing stations and can accommodate roughly 1,000 patients at once.

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