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Catherine Wong

Two Chinese military aircraft carrying emergency supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday morning, a foreign ministry spokesman said, after a volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the Pacific nation.
China has also sent naval vessels with supplies for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction, according to an earlier briefing by defence spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian.
He said the supplies being delivered included food, drinking water, water purifiers, tents, prefab houses, tractors and radio communication equipment.
The Red Cross Society of China has also provided US$100,000 in emergency cash assistance to the Tongan government, according to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.


Aid shipments are arriving in Tonga from a number of countries following the disaster, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan and Britain.
The undersea volcano eruption and tsunami on January 15 destroyed villages and resorts and crippled communications, with at least three people known to have died.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone to his Tongan counterpart, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Wang told Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu that China was among the first countries to send aid to Tonga and more was on the way, the report said.
“As a good friend and partner of Tonga, China is willing to stand firmly with the Tongan people at this difficult moment,” Wang was quoted as saying.
He said Beijing was concerned about Chinese citizens and institutions in Tonga, and that he hoped and believed the Tongan government would guarantee their safety.
Tonga is one of the biggest debtors to China in the South Pacific after it took out loans more than a decade ago to rebuild its capital Nuku’alofa following riots. The Pacific island nation in 2020 asked Beijing to restructure its bilateral debt load after its tourism industry was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.


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Diplomacy

Chinese military planes deliver emergency supplies to tsunami-hit Tonga

A Y-20 military transport plane carrying supplies takes off from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Photo: Weibo

Tonga volcano eruption was far more powerful than Hiroshima atomic bomb blast, Nasa says

Damaged buildings are seen following the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tongatapu, Tonga. Photo: Malau Media via Reuters

Damaged buildings are seen following a volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga. Photo: Malau Media via Reuters

A Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force’s transport vessel departs for Tonga from Hiroshima Prefecture on January 24, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/JIJI PRESS  

A vessel carrying the emergency aid from China to Tonga sets off from a port in Walu Bay, Fiji, on January 24, 2022. Photo: Xinhua 

A building is in ruins in Tungua, Tonga. Photo: Malau Media via Reuters

Will the Tonga volcano eruption have ripple effects on the global climate?

The Tonga eruption sent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. Photo: Tonga Geological Services

China pledges aid to Tonga in wake of devastating volcano

Tonga has been largely cut off from the outside world since an underwater volcano erupted on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

News

China

Two aircraft arrived in the Pacific nation on Thursday morning, according to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
Naval ships are also sending aid and the Red Cross Society of China has provided US$100,000 in emergency cash assistance


Two aircraft arrived in the Pacific nation on Thursday morning, according to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.


Natural disasters

Tonga

Chinese military planes deliver emergency supplies to tsunami-hit Tonga

Two aircraft arrived in the Pacific nation on Thursday morning, according to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian Naval ships are also sending aid and the Red Cross Society of China has provided US$100,000 in emergency cash assistance

Two aircraft arrived in the Pacific nation on Thursday morning, according to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian

Naval ships are also sending aid and the Red Cross Society of China has provided US$100,000 in emergency cash assistance