China’s offer of $137 million donation doubles existing global pledges.
By Ginny Stein for RFA
As the United Nations called for $275 million in aid for quake-hit Myanmar, neighboring China pledged 1 billion yuan (US$137 million), eclipsing the offers from other international donors.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck March 28, has killed more than 3,600 people and damaged critical infrastructure across the country of 55 million people. That includes the main rail line between the commercial center, Yangon, the military’s administrative capital, Naypyidaw, and the worst-hit major city of Mandalay. Electricity and clean water supplies have been impacted and thousands of buildings, including hospitals and schools, have been damaged or destroyed.
The U.N. on Thursday called for increased funding and an immediate ceasefire in Myanmar, which is reeling from four years of civil war after a military coup. It appealed for $275 million to aid those in affected regions.
China was one of the first countries to donate aid when the quake struck, sending the first batch of $13.9 million in emergency aid to its southern neighbor days after what was Myanmar’s worst temblor in decades.
On Thursday, China pledged an additional $137 million to provide food, medicines and prefabricated homes, as well as pay for medical, epidemic prevention and disaster assessment expert groups, its embassy in Myanmar said in a statement.
The U.S., which has traditionally taken the lead in disaster response in the Asia-Pacific region, initially pledged $2 million after President Donald Trump quickly vowed to assist. Washington has since increased its commitment to $9 million.
However, three US Agency for International Development (USAID) workers deployed as a rapid response team discovered after arriving in Myanmar that their jobs had been eliminated as part of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures.
India, Myanmar’s western neighbor, was quick to send a search and rescue team, medical personnel, and a military transport aircraft filled with disaster relief. It has sent a further four aircraft and four ships carrying relief materials, a special military medical unit and members of its disaster agency.
Australia has pledged at least $7 million, and South Korea announced it would provide $2 million in initial humanitarian aid through international organizations. Vietnam sent a team of more than 100 rescuers, medical staff and sniffer dogs. Thailand, Russia, Japan, and Singapore have also sent rescue teams.
OCHA, the U.N. agency coordinating the emergency disaster response by its international humanitarian partners, said that by April 4, 25 donors had pledged $93 million to the earthquake response.
China’s latest donation will more than double what has already been pledged. It comes ahead of a high-profile visit next week by its President Xi Jinping to Southeast Asia.
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