The ship is touring at the same time that the United States is increasing its influence in the region to curb Beijing and other adversaries.
A Chinese ship’s ongoing tour of several Latin American countries is a medical service mission, according to Chinese authorities.
But the ship’s recent visit to Brazil heightened concerns that the hospital ship’s mission is more than humanitarian, after Brazilian authorities were prevented from inspecting the massive vessel.
When the ship, dubbed the Silk Road Ark, reached Rio de Janeiro in early January, Brazilian authorities raised concerns that it was providing medical care without local authorization. Others feared that the unauthorized care could be a cover for information gathering or espionage.
Concerns about the visit come alongside increasing U.S. attention to the region with the revival of the Monroe Doctrine under U.S. President Donald Trump and the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Meanwhile, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in December 2025 showed wargames with the People’s Liberation Army simulating combat near Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.
According to experts and Brazilian authorities who spoke with The Epoch Times, the objective of the tour could be linked to China’s military buildup in the region, in anticipation of a future direct conflict with the United States.
“It is clear that this hospital ship, the Silk Road Ark, is part of the Chinese naval forces. In other words, it is a military ship, even though it is a hospital ship,” Evan Ellis, Latin America research professor at the U.S. Army War College, told The Epoch Times.
A Military–Medical Mission
The trajectory of the Silk Road Ark started in September 2025 in the South Pacific islands. In November 2025, it headed to Latin America, making a technical stop before moving on to Jamaica—recently hit by Hurricane Melissa—then Barbados, and reaching Brazil on Jan. 8.
The ship left Brazil on Jan. 15, spent four days in Uruguay, and is scheduled to visit Chile, Peru, and Mexico before heading back to China.
According to Chinese authorities, the purpose of what has been called Mission Harmony 2025 is to “conduct medical service and cultural exchange activities” with other countries.
But the ship, weighing more than 10,000 tons and belonging to the People’s Liberation Army, gained significant attention during its stop in Brazil after officials received information that the Chinese crew was providing medical care to the local population without authorization from Brazilian authorities. And photos and reports indicated that the ship had military features.
While authorities in Jamaica and Barbados had welcomed the medical care offered by the Chinese ship for their citizens, some Brazilian authorities were more cautious.
“No medical care provided by a foreign doctor within the national territory may be performed without the authorization of the Federal Council of Medicine,” Brazilian Dr. Francisco Cardoso, who leads the agency in the state of São Paulo, told The Epoch Times. “This includes foreign vessels in Brazilian waters.”
The Federal Council of Medicine is responsible for licensing physicians and enforcing compliance with medical laws.
The ship had authorization from the Brazilian navy to be docked in Brazilian waters. However, Cardoso and the Federal Council of Medicine had not given the necessary authorization for the ship’s personnel to perform medical procedures in Brazil.
