Chinese hospital ship arrives in Brunei

MUARA PORT, Brunei - The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" arrived at Muara Port on Sunday afternoon to make a port call and participate in the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) and Military Medicine (MM) Exercise.

The "Peace Ark" will provide free medical checkups for members of the public on Monday morning.

The drill, which will take place from June 17 to 20, includes humanitarian search and rescue, disaster relief and medical operations based on the scenario of a typhoon, with subsequent flooding and mudslides.

This combined exercise will bring together more than 2,000 military personnel from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as the 8 Plus countries which include Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The Chinese hospital ship is an emergency medical support platform independently designed and built by China. Its tasks include treatment and evacuation of injured and sick personnel on the sea, and medical support for troops stationed at islands and atolls.

The ship is 4,000 square meters in size, including 7 offices for doctors and nurses and 8 nurse stations, in addition to 300 beds. The medical equipment on the ship is on par with that in China's top-level hospitals.

Rear Admiral Shen Hao, commander of the hospital ship, told reports upon the ship's arrival at the port that he believed the current goodwill visit to Brunei will further strengthen understanding and trust between the two armies, two navies in particular, and will further consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries.