A Visit by Ark Peace, A Story of Our Times

Ark Peace, the Chinese Naval Hospital Ship, concluded her third visit to Tonga on 4 th August 2023 after one-week medical services.

But the fond memories of her visit linger on, and people hailed her visit as “a story of our times” and “a milestone of the friendship between Tonga and China”.

Ark Peace has written a new chapter in the friendship between the Chinese people and the Tongan people.

During her 7-day stay in Tonga, Ark Peace provided 6,895 medical services, including 5,800 on the ship and 1,095 at three health centers of Mu’a, Vaini & Nukunuku, had 39 surgeries, and offered complete physical examinations for 103 people.

Meanwhile, the Chinese medical experts from Ark Peace and their Tongan counterparts held joint diagnosis and treatments in Vaiola Hospital. Ark Peace sent eight medical experts to ‘Eua via an ambulance helicopter and provided medical consultations & treatments for 333 villagers.

Besides, the Ark Peace team carried out battlefield first-aid skills demonstrations to His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) service members, and conducted operational exchanges with Tongan officers and soldiers on self-rescue and mutual aid techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), endotracheal intubation and the use of AEDs at Masefield Naval Base.

Both navies also held a joint training that mainly focused on formation maneuvering, communication exercise, and maritime-and-aerial search and rescue operations in the waters off the Nukualofa port.

The Tongan people benefited from Ark Peace’s visit

Ark Peace is staffed with masterly medical professionals and equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities, like CT, DR, color Doppler ultrasonography, gastrointestinal endoscopy, automatic biochemical analyzer, multifunctional monitor, ventilator, autoclave cabinet, etc., with up to over 2,600 sets of medical devices and of nearly 250 different types.

Thousands of Tongan people had their health examinations and medical diagnoses with the uses of the advanced medical equipment.

In addition, the Traditional Chinese Medicine is so well-known and popular among Tongans that many people had acupuncture and cupping treatments on the hospital ship.

It goes without saying that it is the Tongan people who benefited most from the visit by Ark Peace.

Strong support from the Royal Families and His Majesty’s Government, HMAF and the people

During the visit by Ark Peace, everything was well organized with the joint efforts from the Chinese side and the Tongan side for providing as many medical services as possible to the Tongan people.

I would like to express my appreciation to people from all walks of life for the strong support and close collaboration for the successful visit by Ark Peace.

Especially, my heartfelt thanks go to the Royal Families, His Majesty’s Government and His Majesty’s Armed Forces for their leadership, guidance and care.

His Majesty King Tupou VI, HRH Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala, Hon. Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, Hon. Speaker Fakafanua and some other Cabinet ministers and members of the Legislative Assembly toured the Hospital Ship.

His Majesty unveiled the gauze compress of a patient with cataract medical treatment on 3 rd August 2023.

My thanks also go to the Tongan Chinese Alumni Association as volunteers for their hard work.

Without all those supports, the visit of Ark Peace would not have achieved such a complete success.

25-year China-Tonga relations

This year marks the 25 th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Tonga.

The bilateral relations have progressed very rapidly over the 25 years on the basis of mutual respect and common development.

Substantial achievements have been made in the bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, infrastructure, education, health, culture, tourism, etc.

The friendly relations and cooperation have brought tangible benefits to both the Tongan people and the Chinese people.

The visit by Ark Peace is not only an event to mark the 25 th anniversary, but also a significant action to promote the friendship which will go down in the history of China-Tonga relationship.

Looking ahead, China is ready to share with Tonga the development opportunities brought by Chinese modernization and the Belt and Road Initiative, expand practical cooperation in various fields to achieve resilient and sustainable development.

China’s policy toward the Pacific island countries and China’s global vision 

What Ark Peace did during her visit to Tonga has proved that she deserves the reputation as a ship of peace and a ship of life.

The visits by Ark Peace to over 40 countries over the past 15 years demonstrate that China is always a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a provider of public goods and a defender of the international order.

In the Pacific region, China’s policy towards the Pacific island countries is based on “four fully respects”, i.e. China fully respects the sovereignty and independence of Pacific island countries, and upholds the equality of all countries, big or small; fully respects the will of Pacific island countries and follows the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits and win-win results; fully respects the cultural traditions of Pacific island nations, and pursues harmony without uniformity and the common development of diverse cultures; fully respects Pacific island countries’ effort to seek strength through unity, and supports them in implementing the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, so as to contribute to the building of a peaceful, harmonious, secure, inclusive and prosperous Blue Pacific.

With a global vision, China is not only dedicated to pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, but also dedicated to human progress and world harmony.

China will continue to respond to the general concerns of people of all countries, and play her part in resolving the common issues facing humankind.