Thousands of people in Tonga have sought medical treatment from a Chinese naval hospital ship docked in the capital, as many praised the free services provided by Beijing which come at a time of increasing competition with the US and its allies for influence in the region.
The military-run vessel staffed with doctors and nurses has spent seven days in the Nuku’alofa. Known as the Peace Ark, the ship has sailed to more than 40 countries since it was commissioned in 2008.Its current tour of the region includes Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The US runs similar military medical missions and its ship, Mercy, is due to visit Solomon Islands during the Pacific Games later this year.
“These medical military missions are a form of competition. They represent competition between the US and China and they have the potential to increase the tension in the region,” Dr Eileen Natuzzi, from Georgetown University’s centre for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific studies.
She said the missions are “really big PR events” that do not help improve local healthcare systems.
“If they wanted to be really effective they should be going to the atolls … but they don’t do it because it’s not as visible,” she said.
‘Grateful’ for treatment
While most Tongans have access to local medical services on the island, the Beijing-run ship attracted some due to the promise of modern equipment, as well as those seeking Chinese medicine treatments that may not be offered at local hospitals.
Residents came from across Tonga to access the services, including Mele Maka from Tatakamotonga village, who brought her two children for check-ups.
“I am grateful for the free treatment my children received,” she said.
“I brought my nine-year-old son, Fine’eva, and seven-year-old daughter, Silia, to check their ears, eyes and teeth. I’m very pleased to be told that they’re both in good health.”
As of Wednesday, 35 surgeries and more than 3,000 other operations had been performed. Clinics dealing with ophthalmology, orthopaedics and Chinese medicine were among the most visited.
Eighty-eight-year-old Ramona Moala, who is blind after an eye operation this year, said she was hopeful that the doctors on board the ship would help recover her eyesight.
“I was told at the local hospital that my eye condition is something the Chinese doctors specialise in,” she said.
“The ship’s staff are warm and welcoming and we’ve been treated well,” said 63-year-old Sateki Tanginoa of Puke village, who came to the ship seeking help for a fractured arm.
Many more Tongans were in line to see the ship’s medical experts including Emeli Tuifua, 44, of Kahoua who has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and Hamani Taufa, 37, of Hauloto who is seeking treatment for his paralysis.
Tonga’s prime minister Hu’akavameiliku publicised the ship’s services in speeches, urging those needing medical attention to visit the vessel. Tonga’s ministry of health is also coordinating cases needing specialist operations to be taken to the ship.
In addition to the hospital ship, medical teams have been dispatched daily to visit schools and community health centres in Tongatapu and ‘Eua to provide educational and health awareness.
Georgetown University’s Natuzzi says while certain groups will benefit from the services, military-run medical missions by China and the US don’t “build healthcare systems”.
“They don’t do anything that is sustainable, that leaves a lasting footprint. I’m not saying there’s no good that comes from this … but is this best model we can have for strengthening the healthcare system in the Pacific islands?”
The ship’s arrival comes days after US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Tonga to open a new US embassy. During the visit he described China’s behaviour in the region as “problematic”, citing Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea and what he called economic coercion.
The Peace Ark is expected to visit Tonga again within the next five years. Its first visit was in 2014, and then in 2018, but could not visit again due to Covid travel restrictions until now.
Reuters contributed to this report
