How a humanitarian naval mission is boosting China’s global ambitions

In a few days, the PLA Navy’s hospital ship Peace Ark will arrive in Djibouti as part of a ritual charm offensive of the Chinese military. This will be the PLA’s sixth “harmonious mission”, an operation during which a ship initially built to treat wounded soldiers in wartime provides free medical services to citizens in developing countries.

Since the first harmonious mission in 2010, the activity has been the flagship of the Chinese navy’s public diplomacy. It projects an image of benign power dedicated to human security, peace and development. Djibouti was a stop on the first mission, during which it provided medical services to the navy’s anti-piracy personnel deployed in the Gulf of Aden and 1,500 people free of charge.

This year, after Sri Lanka and Djibouti, two important stops along China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the Peace Ark will visit Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Tanzania during a soft-power journey through eight countries and lasting more than 150 days.

But it is only in Djibouti that the Peace Ark will receive attention beyond the local media. On August 1, on the 90th anniversary of the PLA’s founding, the Chinese military inaugurated its first overseas base. It is highly possible that the Peace Ark will not berth at the military facility, as the docks have yet to be built. And that makes more sense, given the mission’s purpose is for the ship to be easily accessed by the local population at a civilian port. Nevertheless, sending the Peace Ark less than a month after the inauguration sends the unmistakable signal that the PLA Navy’s presence in Djibouti is about making positive contributions to the world.