China Sends Navy Ship to America’s Doorstep

China has deployed a naval ship in the South Pacific and Latin America – a region considered to be the door of the United States – for medical and cultural missions.

The Chinese naval mission, the code name Harmony 2025, begins while tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to increase. The Pentagon has deployed warships and fighter planes in the south of the Caribbean while intensifying his war against the narcotal terrorists.

Nowsweek Contacted the Pentagon and the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry for Comments by E-mail.

Why it matters

As part of its military accumulation, China operates the largest navy in the world by Hull Count, with more than 370 ships and submarines in service, including three ocean hospital ships assigned to theater, East and South theater. The Chinese navy helps Beijing to extend its military presence and its scope in the world.

In recent years, Latin America and the Caribbean – which have long been considered to be part of the United States of influence – have witnessed China’s expansion of political, economic and military ties and influence, including an alleged spy in Cuba. This year, Beijing and Washington clashed on the sovereignty of the Panama Canal.

What to know

The Chinese Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the CNS Oceanic Hospital ship Silk road ark Would go on the Harmony 2025 mission in early September. The Chinese navy confirmed that the ship had left Quanzhou, the province of Fujian, the same day.

The Xinhua news agency reported that the ship had to visit Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Mexico, Jamaica, Barbado, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Papuasie-Nouvelle-Guinée when it deployed 220 days. It is not yet known if the ship transited the Panama canal.

“The mission aims to strengthen friendly cooperation between China and the countries concerned,” added the Chinese Defense Ministry. The Chinese navy said that one of the tasks assigned by the ship was “military medical exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries”.

The mission also marks the first deployment abroad for the Silk road ark Since its commissioning in 2024, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. The ship, which is equipped with 300 patient beds, recently carried out a mission to the southern China Sea.

The previous Harmony 2024 mission was assigned to the CNS hospital ship Peace arkwhich visited 13 countries in Africa and Asia during its 215 -day trip between June 2024 and January 2025, dealing 82,980 people and performing 1,392 surgeries, Chinese state media reported.

The deployment of Silk road ark Follows a similar mission from the USS hospital ship USNS Comfortwhich was deployed between May 30 and August 17 for the Mission continues promised 2025 in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

THE Comfort According to the US Department of Defense, has treated 12,616 people and carried out 242 surgeries in six countries, demonstrating the US naval commitment to global health and humanitarian aid.

What people say

Friday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a press release: “The mission aims to strengthen friendly cooperation between China and the countries concerned, to offer more public security resources to the international community and to further advance the concepts of a community with a common future for humanity and a maritime community of shared future.”

The Chinese Navy wrote on X Saturday: “Commanded in April 2024 with the number 867 of La Coque, [CNS Silk Road Ark] is accused of tasks, including medical treatment and the evacuation of victims at sea, international humanitarian medical services, emergency rescue and the response to major disasters, and military medical exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries. “”

What happens next

It remains to be seen how the American army will react to the Chinese naval deployment in Latin America and the Caribbean.