The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hospital ship "Silk Road Ark" arrived in the port of Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday for a seven-day friendly visit and humanitarian medical service mission.
This is the second visit by a Chinese Navy hospital ship to Barbados since its hospital ship "Peace Ark" arrived in 2015.
Military and political officials from Barbados, staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Barbados, representatives of Chinese institutions in the Latin American country welcomed the ship at the pier.
The hospital ship "Silk Road Ark" departed from Quanzhou City of east China's Fujian Province on September 5 for the humanitarian medical service mission, known as Mission Harmony-2025, to the South Pacific and Latin America.
Mission Harmony-2025 marks the 11th iteration of Mission Harmony since 2010 and the first overseas mission for "Silk Road Ark," China's second domestically designed and constructed 10,000-ton-class standard ocean-going hospital ship.
The 220-day mission, the longest in the series, was scheduled to see the ship visit around a dozen nations, including Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Papua New Guinea, to provide humanitarian medical services.
Chinese Naval hospital ship arrives in Barbados for friendly visit, medical aid
The White House Office of Management and Budget released its 2027 budget proposal on Friday, which would raise U.S. defense spending to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars while reducing funding for domestic programs.
The budget plan "builds on the president's vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the federal government," according to a document published on the White House website.
At a White House event on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the defense spending as a priority, noting that domestic responsibilities such as health care should be shifted to the states.
"We're fighting wars. We can't take care of day care. You got to let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it, too," Trump said.
Aside from cuts to health programs, the White House budget proposal also includes cuts to refugee resettlement aid, renewable energy projects, university grants and housing programs, among others.
The president's annual budget is often seen as a reflection of the administration's priorities, though Congress ultimately holds the authority over federal spending.
The release of the White House 2027 budget proposal came as Congress remains deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, with Democrats pushing for immigration enforcement reforms that Republicans refuse to accept. This led to a partial government shutdown that has stretched on for nearly seven weeks.
White House seeks 1.5 trillion USD in defense spending in 2027 budget proposal
