China navy massages image in Hawaii

China navy massages image in Hawaii

On a Chinese hospital ship off Hawaii, crew members demonstrate traditional massage techniques to US sailors. The mood is one of collegiality, even after China opted out of Japan-led humanitarian drills at the world’s largest international naval exercise.

Naval Cmdr Fu from China's navy demonstrates massage therapy on a sailor as US navy sailors observe while aboard the ship Peace Ark during the RIMPAC in Honolulu. The Chinese are using its hospital ship to project a softer image of its maritime power in the Pacific. (Reuters photo)

There are no guns in sight as Capt Sun Tao stands on the deck of the Peace Ark that's taking part in the five-week-long Rim of the Pacific exercise, known as Rimpac. Inside the ship, sailors tuck into fatty pork and steamed buns, watching President Xi Jinping on state television, while others give out Chinese massages.

"The Chinese navy now is acting on orders to have a cooperative and open attitude," Capt Sun said after Chinese navy cameramen filmed reporters visiting its eight operating theatres, dental facilities and CT scanner. "I think cooperative areas are growing wider."

The Peace Ark, at about 580 feet, is the friendly face of China's expanding military power in the Pacific, helping treat thousands after Typhoon Haiyan devastated parts of the Philippines in November 2013. In another bid to soften its public image, the army turned to dancing robots, served up Big Macs and showed that amphibious vehicles can indeed do donuts at its latest open day in Beijing on July 22.

Even so, China's decision to avoid the Japan-led Rimpac disaster-relief drills reflects remaining tensions with its neighbours over territory as Mr Xi pledges to restore China to naval prominence in the region. China fanned concerns about its intentions by sending a surveillance vessel to waters off Hawaii even as it participated in the 22-nation Rimpac exercise for the first time, sending the second-largest fleet.

"China's participation is motived by fame, friendship and fear," said Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto, an associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "The hospital ship shows China wants to present the benign image that its naval modernization is actually beneficial to the region. The spy ship shows there is still a trust deficit between the two sides."

Rimpac offers China and the US a non-confrontational way to learn more about each other's capabilities compared with more tense encounters including a near-collision with a US cruiser in December. While China's four People's Liberation Army Navy ships have been welcomed they've been kept out of core war games, and the exercise is led by the US along with allies Australia, Canada and Japan. China and Japan are sparring over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, over which China declared an air defence identification zone last November.

'Might for Peace'

The hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), top, and the Chinese navy hospital ship Peace Ark (866) transit the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific 2014 military exercises. (Reuters photo)

Commissioned in 2008, the Peace Ark has visited 16 countries and provided medical services to Chinese navy escort fleets in the Gulf of Aden. On its way back from Hawaii, the ship will stop in Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, Sun said.

The Peace Ark has worked closely with US hospital ship USNS Mercy and even requested the US ship attend the exercise for the first time, Capt Paul Spedero of the amphibious assault vessel USS Peleliu, which is at Rimpac alongside the Mercy, said in an interview on the bridge of his ship. The US is restricted by law on the types of contacts it can have with the Chinese, Captain Spedero said.

When Haiyan hit the Philippines, the US sent the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, as well as two amphibious ships carrying around 900 marines from Okinawa in Japan.

China sent the Peace Ark, which ferried the sick and injured from shore using its sole helicopter. The visit was the first time the navy engaged in overseas humanitarian medical aid, according to the Ministry of Defence.

"I felt that the people of the Philippines - ordinary people, government officials, or the military - welcomed our services," Capt Sun said about his experience there. "Through this medical service, they can deepen their understanding of the Chinese navy and its thinking."

While it will focus on humanitarian work, the ship's triage area can handle wartime casualties, according to Du Xin, a lieutenant commander on the ship.

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