The Chinese Navy's "Silk Road Ark" hospital ship has gone to the South China Sea to carry out realistic combat training, honing its far-sea medical support capabilities.
According to the official WeChat account of the PLA Southern Theater Command on Tuesday, the "Silk Road Ark" has recently conducted this exercise. The drills focused on subjects such as small boat transfer, emergency response, and mass casualty treatment, aiming to sharpen far-sea medical support capabilities.
During the exercise, the hospital ship entered its combat deployment after arriving at the designated sea area. Deck support personnel completed tasks including boat launching and loading supplies, and received "casualties" via small boat transfers.
Subsequently, advance teams brought medical equipment to the scene, providing first aid for typical blast injuries such as burns, fractures, and chest trauma. The triage group quickly sorted and diverted patients amidst the vessel's rocking, while the surgical group prepared for operations, and the intensive care team conducted anti-shock treatment.
The PLA Southern Theater Command stated that the high-intensity, realistic combat training has established a complete chain for maritime rescue, from treatment to evacuation, enabling seamless connection throughout the casualty care process. This has fully tested comprehensive maritime emergency rescue capabilities and accumulated valuable experience for carrying out far-sea medical support tasks.
Next, the "Silk Road Ark" will continue to deepen the integration of training and combat, regularly carrying out realistic medical support drills in complex maritime areas.
Last Wednesday, Chinese authorities for the first time confirmed that two coast guard officers were killed in the recent South China Sea collision incident. According to official records, the two were killed in action on August 11 last year during a maritime rights protection operation and were posthumously honored with the title "Loyal Guards of the Chinese Armed Police."
On August 11 last year, the China Coast Guard vessel 3104 "Nanyu" collided at high speed with the PLA Navy's Type 052D guided missile destroyer "Guilin" while chasing a Philippine patrol ship near Huangyan Island (called Scarborough Shoal by the Philippines). Afterwards, the Philippines released on-site footage, accusing the Chinese vessels of dangerous maneuvers and suspecting there were Chinese casualties.