‘REMARKABLE’: Singapore likely obtained Washington’s approval before sending the aid, but it is still an audacious move considering Beijing’s influence in the region
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 11, 2018
By: Aaron Tu / Staff reporter
Despite the long history of military exchanges between Taiwan and Singapore, that the
A C-130 Hercules transport aircraft sent by the Singaporean government and loaded with relief supplies is unloaded after arriving at Hualien Airport on Friday to assist in the earthquake rescue efforts. Photo: CNA
city-state sent relief supplies on a military cargo plane following a magnitude 6 earthquake in Hualien on Tuesday last week is still considered rare, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Tung Li-wen (董立文) said yesterday.
Singapore on Friday dispatched a Lockheed C-130 cargo plane laden with relief and medical supplies, tents and flashlights.
The Singaporean Ministry of Defense published photographs of its disaster relief mission in Hualien on its Web site.
Singapore has been trying to mend its ties with China after it in 2016 voiced support for a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, that Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis. [FULL STORY]
