China to send hospital ship to the Philippines

TACLOBAN — China is sending a state-of-the-art hospital ship to the Philippines following foreign and domestic criticism that it was slow and less than generous in its response to one of the world’s biggest typhoons, which killed at least 4,000 people.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing confirmed on Tuesday the deployment of the 14,000-tonne Peace Ark as state television reported the arrival of the first batch of Chinese relief supplies in the Philippines.

The Ark’s exact area of operations and time of arrival have not been confirmed, but the ministry’s spokesman Hong Lei said it would set sail today.

“We hope that this action can alleviate the current situation in the Philippines, which is lacking doctors and medicine, and reflect the Chinese people’s friendly feelings for the people of the Philippines,” he said.

Beijing is sending an emergency medical rescue team of 51 people, while the Red Cross Society of China is sending two contingents which comprise a total of 30 medical staff.

“China has always been concerned about the Philippines typhoon disaster,” he said in an earlier statement.

Tension between China and the Philippines had risen in recent months over disputed claims in the South China Sea, with Manila taking Beijing to a United Nations court to challenge its historic claim to much of the strategic waterway.

China’s usually hawkish Global Times, a tabloid owned by the government mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, last week urged the deployment of the Ark amid criticism of Beijing’s response by foreign commentators.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, initially announced it was giving US$200,000 (S$248,700) and then bumped that up by US$1.6 million. On Sunday, it said it was ready to send rescue and medical teams.

In contrast, the United States has mobilised about 50 ships and aircraft in the disaster zone with helicopters delivering supplies from an aircraft carrier. It has announced more than US$37 million in humanitarian aid.

The Ark, described in military journals as a state-of-the-art hospital ship, will join an international flotilla of naval ships now delivering food, water and medicine to victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across the central Philippine on Nov 8, smashing just about everything in its path.

It is outfitted with 300 hospital beds and eight operating theatres, and boast a medical staff numbering 100. It recently returned to Shanghai after an unprecedented four-month deployment to South-east Asia and the Indian Ocean where it made several goodwill stops, treating thousands of patients. Agencies