A truck being unloaded from the Ilyushin IL-76 at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport. — Bernama photo
ALOR SETAR: Transport aircraft Ilyushin IL-76 belonging to China’s International Search and Rescue (CISAR) team arrived at the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (LSTAH), here, yesterday.
The plane arrived at 11.30am, bringing rescue equipment and various vehicles that will be used during the Asean Regional Forum Disaster Relief Exercise 2015 (ARF-Rex 2015) which will take place in Kedah and Perlis from tomorrow till Thursday.
People’s Liberation Army China General Staff, Office Operations Department deputy chief of Emergency Response, Senior Colonel Ma Xin said the food supplies, equipment and vehicles brought in from the country were meant to speed up the teams’ training. “We hope the exercise will go smoothly and successfully with commitment by all the rescue teams from various countries,” he said when met here yesterday.
Meanwhile, National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Tajudin Abdul Wahab said Malaysia and China are joint chairs for the ARF DiREx 2015. He said the exercise would also be participated by various rescue agencies from 22 countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, the United States and India. The training was important as the search and rescue teams will be working together in future in the event of disasters such as earthquakes and floods, he added.
“For instance, for the earthquakes in Nepal recently, the search and rescue team from the country collaborated with Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei to provide assistance to the quake victims,” Mohamed Tajudin said.
ARF DiREx 2015’s main focus is to test the civil-military coordination, create synergies and coordinate efforts to support the effective implementation of the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) as the common platform for disaster management in the region. — Bernama