China is sending a military-run hospital ship to the Pacific, where it would call in at Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and East Timor at a time of growing competition with the US and its allies for influence in the region.
The 14,300-tonne Peace Ark, which is bigger than a typical Chinese destroyer, would offer medical aid to Chinese citizens and residents of the countries it visits on its ninth humanitarian “Harmony Mission,” the Chinese Ministry of National Defense ministry said in a statement late on Sunday.
“It is to present our image as a responsible big country,” Chinese navy spokesperson Liu Wensheng (劉文勝) said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
The ship, painted white with red crosses on its sides, was commissioned in 2008, and has sailed to more than 40 countries.
China has been building ties in the Pacific in recent years to the consternation of the US and allies Australia and New Zealand, which have long seen the region as their sphere of influence.
China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year and hopes to build similar ties with other Pacific countries. Its foreign minister has said relations with the Solomon Islands can serve as a model.
The US has pledged to triple funding for the region, and it opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands in February after a 30-year absence. It is also planning an embassy in Vanuatu.
In May, the US opened an embassy in Tonga, and signed a defense pact with Papua New Guinea.
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