Foreign Policy

Documents & Texts from America.gov

16 May 2008
United States Rushing Aid Flights to China, Burma

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States will provide direct humanitarian relief to China in the wake of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck the region around Sichuan province May 12. In addition, the United States already has provided vital satellite imagery of the region to Chinese authorities to help them locate victims and identify damaged roads and infrastructure.

More U.S. relief flights also are headed to Burma and, separately, the United States is sending 500,000 metric tons of food assistance to North Korea, the State Department says.

CHINA ACCEPTS U.S. AID

"The Chinese government has agreed to a U.S. offer to provide airlifted relief supplies, including tents, food, blankets, generators, and other supplies. And it is our hope that we have the supplies delivered this weekend via C-17 aircraft," says State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jets will be flying from U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, he said at a briefing May 16. The planes are the Air Force's state-of-the-art cargo jets that can deliver thousands of kilos of relief supplies to virtually any location on the globe regardless of distances and flying times because they can refuel in flight.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington asked the United States for the high-resolution satellite images, according to news reports. McCormack confirmed that the images have been sent to China over the past couple of days.

In recent years, the United States has provided such images with analysis to foreign governments that are reeling from natural disasters such as the earthquake that struck China. The Chinese government, through state-run media, has placed the death toll at approximately 20,000, but that number is expected to rise as remote areas and the hardest-hit areas are opened to rescuers.

BURMA FLIGHTS CONTINUE

McCormack said that four U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo planes landed in Rangoon May 16 with additional relief supplies. He said two of the relief shipments were handed over directly to international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

"That was the first time ... that that has happened," McCormack said. "And we're planning four to five [more] flights for both Saturday and Sunday [May 17-18], and it is our hope that some of those shipments again will be handed over directly to international NGOs for distribution in affected areas."

Previously, all relief shipments were handed directly to the Burmese military for distribution, but McCormack said the actions May 16 indicate a new and hopeful trend.

"We're doing our best to make sure that what is delivered in Rangoon makes it down to the affected areas to those who need it," McCormack said.

The official death toll and from Cyclone Nargis and the flooding it caused rose to 77,738, according to Burmese state television reports. The number of missing has doubled to 55,917. The International Red Cross has estimated that the death toll could be as high as 128,000. The United Nations is estimating that 1.5 million to 2.5 million survivors are in immediate need of food, water, shelter and medical care.

U.S. FOOD AID TO NORTH KOREA

The U.S. Agency for International Development announced in Washington May 16 that an agreement has been reached with North Korea for the resumption of food assistance shipments for the North Korean people, McCormack said.

"International organizations and experts have expressed concern about a severe food shortage in North Korea, and [the North Korean government] has explained to the United States that it faces a major shortfall in food supplies," a USAID statement said. "In response the United States has pledged significant assistance."

The United States will provide North Korea with 500,000 metric tons of food commodities over the next year beginning in June. The U.N. World Food Programme will distribute approximately 400,000 metric tons and U.S.-based NGOs will distribute approximately 100,000 metric tons of food assistance.

The food assistance is coming from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, which is managed by the U.S. Agriculture Department. The trust maintains up to 4 million metric tons of U.S. wheat, corn, sorghum and rice in its reserve for humanitarian needs.

"And representatives from Emerson [Trust] and the World Food Programme will be able to travel to affected areas that are going to be receiving the food aid," McCormack said. USAID also said that experts will meet in Pyongyang shortly to work out operational matters and then begin implementation.

"This program has developed through close coordination and extensive consultation with experts in the South Korean government," USAID said.

North Korea's food crisis worsened after floods in 2007 destroyed more than 11 percent of the country's crops, according to news reports. The United Nations says North Korea has had to request international assistance to feed its people since the mid-1990s because of natural disasters and mismanagement.

McCormack added that providing humanitarian food assistance to North Korea, which is facing severe food conditions, is not related to ongoing Six-Party Talks aimed at convincing the North Koreans to eliminate their nuclear weapons development program.

back to top ^