RIMPAC tour provides glimpse at life aboard Chinese hospital ship

ABOARD THE PEACE ARK AT SEA » The "soft power" side of China’s participation in Rim of the Pacific war games was on display Wednesday on its hospital ship about 46 miles north of Oahu.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy invited media to tour the 584-foot Peace Ark, which is painted white and has large red crosses like the U.S. Navy’s two larger hospital ships, Mercy and Comfort.

And like the U.S. Navy, China has been using the Peace Ark for humanitarian assistance around the world to aid nations in need — and seek political favor in the process.

Senior Capt. Sun Tao, who commands the medical treatment portion of the ship, said the Peace Ark will head to Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea after RIMPAC.

In 2013, the hospital ship made stops in Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Maldives, Bangladesh and India, said Lt. Cmdr. Du Xin, who is part of the 112-member medical team.

Altogether, about 400 crew members are on the Peace Ark, he said.

This year marks China’s first time participating in RIMPAC, and the first time a U.S. hospital ship — the USNS Mercy — also has been deployed for the long-running exercise.

"RIMPAC provides a very good platform for mutual understanding and trust and it will do a better job for the future cooperation (between the United States and China)," Sun said through an interpreter.

China is seeking a more prominent role on the world stage, but it has experienced growing pains as it does so.

The nation was criticized last year for a paltry initial financial contribution to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, and later increased the amount.

Sun chose not to address that criticism and instead noted the Peace Ark’s quick response to the disaster.

"In my opinion, I think the timing is good because it only took us 48 hours to get everything in preparation," Sun said. "We spent 72 hours on that voyage (to the Philippines)."

China sent four invited ships to RIMPAC: the Peace Ark, destroyer Haikou, frigate Yueyang, supply ship Qiandaohu — and as it turns out, a fifth uninvited vessel, a spy ship.

The ship’s presence, confirmed by the U.S. Navy, prompted one headline stating China was crashing its own party.

As of Tuesday, the auxillary general intelligence or "AGI" surveillance vessel continued to loiter near the RIMPAC exercise area within the U.S. 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, an official said.

By all accounts, working relations with the four invited Chinese navy ships have been good.

"My interactions with the Chinese navy and their sailors have been very professional," said Royal Canadian Navy Rear Adm. Gilles Couturier, the RIMPAC combined forces maritime component commander. "On a (military-to-military) level, they understand the importance of communication and cooperation in a maritime environment."

Aboard the Peace Ark, which has wide hallways to allow the passage of gurneys, some of the walls and floors are painted the same bright green that’s found in hospitals in China.

Although there are eight familiar-looking operating rooms and a 20-bed intensive care unit, the ship also offers traditional Chinese medicine including massage, acupuncture and "cupping" treatment.

Colds and shoulder or back pain can be treated using the glass cupping bowls that are heated to create suction on the back.

"Must move the evil out," said Cmdr. Fu Bensheng, a doctor onboard the Peace Ark.