China, West rush aid to tsunami-hit Tonga

WELLINGTON • Chinese naval vessels carrying aid supplies were set to arrive in Tonga yesterday as Beijing shored up its disaster response efforts in the tsunami-hit Pacific nation following a coordinated response by its Western rivals.

A Chinese navy vessel carrying drinking water and food was expected to arrive from Fiji, while two military aircraft were also set to deliver 33 tonnes of emergency supplies, including drinking water, food, tents and walkie talkies, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a briefing on Wednesday.

Separately, two boats from China National Fisheries (Group) Corporation carrying emergency supplies docked in the Vuna wharf of the capital, Nuku'alofa, for unloading yesterday.

The Chinese navy will ship bulky items such as portable cabins, tractors, generators and water pumps to Tonga in coming days, the Foreign Ministry said.

"The Chinese side will continue to offer help and assistance to the best of its capability to facilitate Tonga's disaster-relief and reconstruction according to the local situation and Tonga's needs," government spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular daily briefing on Wednesday.

The United States announced a US$2.5 million (S$3.37 million) assistance plan this week and its guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson arrived in Nuku'alofa on Wednesday as part of a multinational effort alongside France, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan and others.

"The multinational approach by allies and partners to assist friends in need demonstrates our shared values towards regional stability and security," navy Captain Kyle Raines, the director of public affairs at US Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement.

The British Royal Navy ship HMS Spey also arrived on Wednesday. Australian and New Zealand naval vessels have also arrived in Tonga, and Canberra promised A$3 million (S$2.87 million) in humanitarian funding to Tonga.

Tonga has close diplomatic relations with China and is one of the biggest Chinese debtors in the South Pacific, with its financial reliance dating back to loans taken more than a decade ago to rebuild its capital Nuku'alofa after riots.

Washington and its Western allies worry that China is using debt to secure influence over these strategically important Pacific island nations, claims that Beijing has repeatedly denied.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption on Jan 14 triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and resorts and knocked out communications for the nation of about 105,000 people.

Three people have been reported killed, the authorities said.

In a sign of continued danger, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 219km west-northwest of Pangai, Tonga, yesterday, said the United States Geological Survey. It added that the quake was at a depth of 14.5km.

REUTERS, XINHUA