SDF plane to transport medicines to quake-hit Myanmar

Japan will dispatch a Self-Defense Forces airplane carrying medicines and medical equipment to Myanmar, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Monday, as part of relief efforts to the Southeast Asian country following a massive earthquake last month.

A C-130 transport aircraft with about 20 crew members and 2.5 tons of medical goods is set to depart an SDF base in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan for Myanmar on Tuesday, Nakatani told reporters in Tokyo.

The plane is scheduled to arrive Wednesday in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, near the epicenter of the March 28 magnitude 7.7 quake, to deliver the items to a Japanese medical team before returning to Japan, according to the Defense Ministry.

"The C-130 will allow us to deliver necessary medical goods and equipment more swiftly and certainly," Nakatani said, adding that Japan will consistently support Myanmar's citizens.

It will be the first SDF dispatch to a foreign country for a relief mission purpose since 2023 when a powerful earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria, the ministry said.

The decision to dispatch comes as safety concerns linger even after Myanmar's ruling military, which toppled the democratically elected government in the February 2021 coup, declared Wednesday a temporary cease-fire in its civil war against ethnic minority groups amid continuing relief work.

Nakatani said he believes the SDF can transport the goods to Myanmar safely, and he did not think the local situation was worsening.

He also said the government had permission from the junta for the flight despite communication with them being of the "bare minimum." He also stressed that Japan maintains its stance of not recognizing the legitimacy of the Myanmar military coup.

The death toll from the quake has risen to more than 3,500, with over 5,000 people injured, according to the junta.

© KYODO