South Pacific: China's hospital ship on strategic mission

You can do good with a hospital ship - and use it in a targeted manner - as you see fit. And China likes to do good in the South Pacific to those countries that have turned their backs on Taiwan and lend a sympathetic ear to the dragon. But this dragon is no cuddly toy! The Daishan Dao (Peace Ark) organised a three-month goodwill tour of the Pacific islands in the summer, when it was winter in the southern half of the world, and returned to its home port of Zhoushan, south of Shanghai, in mid-September. The island or small states of Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and East Timor were the lucky recipients of "endless affection and outstanding medical skills" from the "messengers of health, peace and friendship", as the Chinese agency Xinhua reported. 41,000 patients were treated, 25,000 examinations carried out and 200 operations performed in areas where good visibility was guaranteed - even if the more remote atolls were in much greater need of medical support. Incidentally, the ship deliberately avoided the islands of Tuvalu and Nauru, which are among the handful of Pacific states that continue to maintain unrestricted relations with Taipei. The "pragmatic" round trip of the Daishan Dao - like the voyages of other hospital ships, of course - must be seen for what they are: Public relations events in the context of state-driven, maritime diplomacy, and not a long-term fight against causes.