Opinion>Opinions - International

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

In Latin America, China’s Silk Road Ark is sunk

by Arturo McFields, opinion contributor - 04/01/26 8:30 AM ET

The Chinese hospital ship Silk Road Ark seen docked at the pier at Valparaiso, Chile on March 2, 2026. According to the Ministry of Health, it lacks authorization for medical operations. (Photo by Cristobal Basaure Araya/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In late 2025, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy launched a tour across Latin America and the Caribbean with a military hospital ship. The communist superpower wanted to show its muscles and display geopolitical relevance. The tour has turned out to be a massive catastrophe, though, as only six out of 33 countries in the region welcomed the ship — the Silk Road Ark.

In December, Beijing issued its third policy paper on Latin America, stating that it “will actively carry out military exchanges and cooperation,” “expand friendly exchanges between defense and military leading officials” and “strengthen policy dialogue and set up working meeting mechanisms” with Latin American nations.

The paper also noted the goal to “conduct mutual visits between delegations and vessels, deepen professional exchanges in such fields as military training” and “enhance cooperation in military trade and military technology.” So no, China was not just looking to promote innocent health care services.

Despite this, very few countries decided to open their doors to a Chinese military vessel.

Brazil, Chile, Jamaica and Barbados agreed to receive the ship. Nicaragua and Uruguay were added at the last minute as technical stops. In Chile, health care authorities rejected China’s offer, even though the ship had arrived in Valparaiso. Peru withdrew a congressional bill that would have permitted Silk Road Ark into the country, also citing health care concerns. Despite loud propaganda, Mexico quietly disappeared from the tour.

Mexico is the principal U.S. trading partner, and Peru has been designated a major non-NATO U.S. ally. For these countries, playing along with China’s war games is not an attractive option.

Brazil was the only Latin American country that received the communist military vessel with arms wide-open and without reservations. In Rio de Janeiro, the military hospital members of the naval forces of both countries conducted a joint maritime search and rescue exercise. China also made a demonstration of a combat and rescue operation. But authorities from the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio de Janeiro complained about not being able to inspect the ship or meet with the medical personnel on board.

Last week, the U.S. launched an unprecedented military tour in Latin America, covering the Caribbean as well as North, Central and South America. The Southern Seas 2026 deployment includes the USS Nimitz, a massive nuclear-powered ship, along with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the USS Gridley.

The tour includes exercises with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay, and comprehensive port visits in Brazil, Chile, Panama and Jamaica.

In a recent congressional hearing, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, chief of the U.S. Southern Command, presented four imperatives for the new approach in the region: “deny adversary footholds and undue influence in the Western Hemisphere,” “strengthen hemispheric command and control,” “impose total systemic friction on drug cartels and terrorist networks” and “develop and field cost-effective, modernized forces tailored for the mission.”

On March 7, President Trump announced the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. In less than a month, much has been achieved. Ecuador carried out strikes against cartel infrastructures, Paraguay signed a new Status of Forces Agreement and Bolivia, a former coca stronghold, captured the most wanted drug lord in South America.

The tour by Chinese and U.S. warships demonstrates once again that a clear geopolitical, commercial and military battle exists between the two powers — and Beijing is losing it.

Although China is the leading trade partner for most South American countries, the U.S. is showing to be, by far, the region’s primary ally in matters of security and the fight against organized crime.

The new U.S. National Security Strategy clearly outlines this: “After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region.”

The U.S. is determined to deny non-hemis