Cooperation is the way forward

As part of the joint humanitarian drill held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, medical experts from China and the United States held a joint discussion about the provision of international humanitarian services.

After a tour of the ship, US Navy Captain Lynn Wheeler said Peace Ark is a world-class military hospital ship. Wheeler will serve as commander of the USS Mercy, one of the largest hospital ships in the world, in the next month. "Mercy and Peace Ark are basically doing the same thing," she said. "Humanitarian services are universal."

Led by Wheeler, two medical professionals from the US military gave presentations alongside their Chinese peers. Du Xin, a Chinese doctor, delivered a lecture on the lessons the PLA General Hospital learned during the rescue mission after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province, Erik Kuncir, a US navy medical expert, said China and the US can learn a lot from each other.