Relief operations

On her visit to Brunei, the ship took part in a joint drill and disaster-relief operations held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus. It was the first time the Peace Ark had been involved.

People from a number of countries involved in the joint drill asked to visit the ship's TCM section, according to Wang Zhihui, director of the mission's medical crew.

During a combined "open deck" day, when the 18 member countries involved in the drill allowed free access to their vessels and held parties for the visitors, a dozen members of the Peace Ark crew performed Ba Duan Jin, a tai chi-like form of traditional Chinese exercise, which has been adopted by the sailors as a means of exercise during the voyage. Several crew and officers from the foreign ships enjoyed the performance so much that they joined in, as far as they were able.

"Many traditional Chinese treatments have been adopted by the United States' military," said Erik Kuncir, a US navy medical expert. At a meeting with Peace Ark officers, he mentioned that acupuncture is widely used by the US military to cure chronic pain.

"Its use is not as common as in China, but an increasing number of people in the US are becoming interested in Chinese medicine," said Kuncir. "I'm looking forward to greater cooperation with the Chinese military in this field."

Contact the writer at pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn

Ju Zhenhua contributed to this story.

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