Chinese hospital ship offers free checkups in Brunei

MUARA PORT, Brunei - The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" provided free medical checkups for members of the public on Monday morning.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark" arrives at Muara Port, Brunei, June 16, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese Navy hospital ship arrived here Sunday afternoon to make a port call and participate in the ASEAN Defense Ministers ' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) and Military Medicine (MM) Exercise.

Hundreds of local people lined up on the board waiting for medical checkups, including blood and X-ray tests.

The Chinese hospital ship's visit to Brunei aims at contributing to regional cooperation in non-traditional security, and promoting friendship among the ADMM-Plus nations.

The combined exercise will bring together more than 2,000 military personnel from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as the eight Plus countries which include Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The drill will take place from June 17-20, which includes humanitarian search and rescue, disaster relief and medical operations based on the scenario of a typhoon, with subsequent flooding and mudslides.

The Chinese hospital ship is an emergency medical support platform independently designed and built by China. Its tasks include treatment and evacuation of the injured and the sick on the sea, and medical support for troops stationed at islands and atolls.

The ship is 4,000 square meters in size, including seven offices for doctors and nurses and eight nurse stations, in addition to 300 beds. The medical equipment on the ship is on par with that in China's top-level hospitals.

The ship will be open to the public from 9-12 am on June 18. Visitors can board the ship and have a guided tour.