On October 13, 2025, local time, the Chinese naval hospital ship Silk Road Ark arrives in Tonga for a seven-day visit, during which it will provide medical services and conduct cultural exchanges and other activities. The picture shows that the Tongan side held a welcoming ceremony at the dock.
NUKU'ALOFA, Oct. 13 -- On October 13, local time, the hospital ship Silk Road Ark attached to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which is on the Mission Harmony 2025, arrived at Vuna Wharf of the Port of Nuku'alofa in Tonga for a seven-day visit, during which it will provide medical services and conduct cultural exchanges and other activities. This is the fourth time that a Chinese naval hospital ship carried out the "Mission Harmony" in Tonga.
At 10:00 a.m., the hospital ship Silk Road Ark, decorated with the national flags of China and Tonga, pulled into the Vuna Wharf of the Port of Nuku'alofa in Tonga. The Tongan side held a grand welcoming ceremony at the dock. The acting Prime Minister and military and political dignitaries of Tonga, the Chinese Ambassador to Tonga, the local people, overseas Chinese, representatives of Chinese-funded institutions, among others, came to the dock to welcome the ship.
During the visit in Tonga, the Chinese hospital ship Silk Road Ark will not only provide medical diagnosis and treatment services on the main platform, but also carry out academic exchanges on battlefield injury treatment with Tonga Royal Navy, hold a medical forum jointly with Tongan hospitals, send shipborne helicopters and multiple medical detachments to provide medical outreach services for outer islands and the local communities, and dispatch cultural teams to conduct cultural exchange activities at local schools. Furthermore, the navies of the two countries will hold a joint drill in the sea area off the port.
When Tonga was hit by a natural disaster caused by a volcanic eruption in January 2022, the Chinese PLAN dispatched a taskforce to deliver over 1,400 tons of disaster relief supplies to Tonga. The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark visited the country in 2014, 2018, and 2023, providing medical services for more than 15,000 local people in total.
On October 13, 2025, the Chinese naval hospital ship Silk Road Ark arrives in Tonga for a seven-day visit, during which it will provide medical services and conduct cultural exchanges and other activities. The picture shows that the local people and overseas Chinese welcomed the ship at the dock.
On October 13, 2025, the Chinese naval hospital ship Silk Road Ark arrives in Tonga for a seven-day visit, during which it will provide medical services and conduct cultural exchanges and other activities. The picture shows that the Chinese service members manned the rails, waving to the welcoming crowd.
On October 13, 2025, the Chinese naval hospital ship Silk Road Ark arrives in Tonga for a seven-day visit, during which it will provide medical services and conduct cultural exchanges and other activities. The picture shows that the Chinese service members manned the rails, waving to the welcoming crowd.