ANÁLISIS | Smart Power at Sea and China’s Dual Use Maritime Operations in Latin America

China’s growing maritime presence in Latin America reflects a broader strategy of employing humanitarian and research vessels with dual-use potential to expand influence and operational familiarity in the Western Hemisphere. While publicly framed as medical diplomacy or scientific cooperation, these deployments provide opportunities to cultivate regional goodwill, normalize repeated port access, and collect environmental and seabed data relevant to naval operations and undersea infrastructure awareness.

The Silk Ark Road hospital ship illustrates how humanitarian naval diplomacy can deepen defense engagement and increase Beijing’s maritime domain familiarity across Latin American ports. Concurrently, research vessels such as Tan Suo Yi Hao demonstrate the dual-use implications of oceanographic missions, including the potential to gather acoustic and seabed data relevant to submarine operations and undersea cable networks. Together, these activities suggest an effort to expand China’s maritime domain awareness and strategic access in a region central to intensifying great power competition.

This paper argues that such deployments, while not overtly military, may contribute to China’s long-term options to challenge regional maritime governance. It recommends enhanced vessel tracking capability via integration, stronger regulatory frameworks for foreign research and humanitarian vessels, and expanded U.S. interagency, public, and private support to Latin American partners to strengthen oversight, sovereignty protection, and undersea infrastructure security.