Chinese hospital ship visits Jamaica as US gunboats ply the Caribbean
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An aerial view shows damaged buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Lewis Town, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, on Oct 31.
PHOTO: AFP
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A Chinese hospital ship quietly docked in hurricane-hit Jamaica this week, projecting soft power into the heart of the Caribbean where a US armada is conducting a controversial anti-narcotics mission targeted at Venezuela.
The Silk Road Ark, a massive Chinese Navy vessel with 300 hospital beds and some 100 doctors and support staff, is a potent symbol of Beijing’s outreach to the Caribbean region, one of the last bastions of diplomatic support for its rival Taiwan.
The floating hospital arrived in the northern Jamaican port of Montego Bay on Dec 4, as the island struggles to recover from Hurricane Melissa. The storm tore across Jamaica in late October, killing more than 45 people, destroying hospitals and causing at least US$9 billion in damage.
Jamaica very much needs the vessel “because of the challenges we face,” Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton told local media after touring the ship. “This is another big development that shows the spirit of friendship and partnership.”
The US has also played a prominent role in Jamaica’s recovery efforts, according to Mr Wayne Chen, chairman of the southern regional health authority, which is part of of the health ministry.
US President Donald Trump’s administration pledged more than US$22 million in aid. But the US Navy’s two largest medical ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, are currently docked at stateside ports.
In the hours and days after the hurricane, US Chinook helicopters – with their double rotors and ample cargo capacity – criss-crossed the sky dropping food and water for communities cut off by the storm, Mr Chen said in an interview.
“The vast majority of Jamaicans have been very happy and gratified to see the outpouring of international assistance both from our traditional friends, governments, foundations and private groups,” he said. El Salvador sent more than 300 troops to help with the clean up, while Britain and Venezuela provided tangible aid, he said. “So the Chinese ship is also very welcome,” he added.
Beijing’s timing was fortuitous. The Silk Road Ark left mainland China in early September and had already planned to visit Jamaica, along with Barbados, Brazil, Peru, Chile and other countries in the region. But it adjusted its schedule as the hurricane toll became clear.
The USNS Comfort, by contrast, finished its tour of the Caribbean – but not Jamaica – in August.
China’s hospital ship will perform cataract and hernia surgeries, CT scans and ultrasounds, and bloodwork diagnostics, according to Jamaican health authorities.
Tensions have been running high across the region for months. The US has deployed almost a dozen warships – including the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier – and more than 15,000 troops into the Caribbean. What was originally billed as a counter-narcotics operation has morphed into a broader pressure campaign to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who the US accuses of heading a drug-trafficking cartel.
As Washington carries out lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, most countries in the region have urged restraint to maintain a “zone of peace”. Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic stand out for opening their waters, airspace and bases to the US military.
For Beijing, the region is a diplomatic battleground. Of the 12 states (including the Vatican) that maintain diplomatic relations with China’s rival Taiwan, seven are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Beijing might have gotten a new opening last month when St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves – a staunch Taiwan supporter – was voted out of office. BLOOMBERG
