What does China’s first naval visit to Uruguay say about its Latin American ambitions?
Western hemisphere port call by Silk Road Ark comes just weeks after US ousted Venezuelan leader
Analysts said the inaugural visit signalled that Beijing’s efforts to expand its military exchanges in the western hemisphere were unaffected by America’s military raid in Venezuela earlier this month.
Amid the broader US-China competition for regional influence, Uruguay has sped up economic and diplomatic alignment with China.
Cui Shoujun, professor and deputy director of the Institute of International Development Studies at Renmin University, said the port call indicated that China’s naval exchanges with South American countries remained unaffected.
“The fact that Chinese naval vessels made a technical stop in Uruguay indicates that such exchanges have not been interrupted by the Venezuela situation,” Cui said. “The cooperation between China and Latin America follows its own pace and is not subject to sudden geopolitical events in the region.”
The naval visit by the Type 920 hospital ship was part of Mission Harmony 2025, a humanitarian medical service voyage launched last September.
The latest edition of the recurring mission will see the vessel visit more than a dozen countries across the South Pacific and Latin America on a 220-day deployment, according to Chinese state media reports from when the Silk Road Ark set sail.
The mission includes stops in the western hemisphere countries of Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Brazil, Peru and Chile – a part of the world where the People’s Liberation Army does not have the kind of strong ties it has in Asia or Africa.
The Silk Road Ark conducted routine resupply operations and exchange activities on its first day in Montevideo, including a friendly football match with Uruguayan defence ministry and navy officials, Xinhua reported.
Cui described these interactions as a normal part of exchanges that fostered mutual understanding between China and Latin American countries. Future cooperation with Uruguay could extend beyond technical stops to include broader types of naval exchanges and joint activities, he said.
Jiang Shixue, director of the Centre for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, said the port call was intended as a gesture of friendship and to provide medical help, noting that it had been planned well in advance.
The Silk Road Ark has already visited Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Barbados and Brazil. Its stop in Uruguay followed a seven-day goodwill visit and medical exchange in Brazil that concluded on January 15.
The main roles of the Silk Road Ark are reported to include medical treatment and evacuation of casualties at sea, as well as international humanitarian medical assistance and military medical cooperation.
Taiwan’s Institute for National Defence and Security Research said in a report this month that Beijing’s first-ever medical outreach in Brazil highlighted a shift in military focus towards the South Pacific and South America.
“Through the soft power of hospital ships, [mainland] China is attempting to establish a form of humanitarian authority that goes beyond military competition in what is considered the US-China rivalry’s backyard,” it said.