Upon the request of the Kingdom of Tonga, a new batch of emergency supplies, delivered by Chinese military, has just arrived at Nuku'alofa, the capital city of the Kingdom of Tonga.
On Friday, the aircraft of China's air force, carrying 33 tons of disaster relief materials, arrived at Fua'amotu International Airport. It's the first batch of supplies sent directly from within China.
These materials include drinking water, food, personal protective equipment, tents, folding beds, water purifiers and walkie talkies.
The aircraft, with Tonga's consent, left southern China's Guangzhou City for the archipelago on Thursday.
Chinese military told the media ahead of the departure that the country would also send naval vessels on January 31st, just one day ahead of the Chinese New Year, to deliver emergency supplies to the country for disaster relief and post disaster reconstruction.
The ships will carry bulky items such as portable cabins, tractors, generators and water pumps.
According to China's Foreign Ministry, after the volcanic eruption in Tonga, the country has provided disaster-relief assistance through multiple channels.
The Red Cross Society of China has provided USD 100,000 in cash as emergency humanitarian assistance to the Tongan side.
The Chinese government, through the Chinese Embassy in Tonga, managed to put together in the shortest time possible some emergency supplies including drinking water and food and delivered them to Tonga on January 19. It's the first batch of assistance received by Tonga after the volcanic eruption.
China has also put together supplies worth one million yuan through our embassy in Fiji, which is close to Tonga. Those supplies were loaded on January 24 and arrived in Tonga on January 27.
