US pullout from typhoon relief a poser

US Air Force 535th Airlift Squadron crew aid a handicapped typhoon victim into a tightly packed C-17 aircraft for an evacuation at the airport in Tacloban City on Nov. 18, 2013. An Inquirer source privy to the US efforts in the storm-battered Eastern Visayas said Wednesday, Dec. 4, it was “too good of a coincidence” that the Americans ended its work in the Eastern Visayas, and eventually folded up the Joint Task Force (JTF) 505 a week after the arrival of China’s modern hospital ship Peace Ark. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Did China’s arrival trigger the United States pullout from its Supertyphoon “Yolanda” relief support efforts in the Eastern Visayas?

An Inquirer source privy to the US efforts in the storm-battered region said Wednesday it was “too good of a coincidence” that the Americans ended its work in the Eastern Visayas, and eventually folded up the Joint Task Force (JTF) 505 a week after the arrival of China’s modern hospital ship Peace Ark.

“The US spent more effort coming in and has not yet maximized utilization of their efforts when they decided to pull out,” observed the source, who requested anonymity.

The source, who took part in the coordination of the foreign militaries’ efforts in the Eastern Visayas, said that a US Landing Craft Air Cushion and Landing Craft Utility with military trucks were supposed to distribute relief goods in Eastern Samar but eventually, “they never got off the ships.”

The source also said that on board an LHT was a US Marine battalion that was supposedly going to be deployed to Basey and Macabot in Western Samar with a Philippine Marine battalion counterpart.

“But the US Marines never made it ashore,” the source said because the JTF 505 had been deactivated.

The source also said that China’s Peace Ark had been treating a number of patients.

But because of its sheer size, the hospital ship could not dock in Tacloban City’s port, which resulted in a “double handling” of the patients, which means they would have to be flown to the hospital by helicopter.

The source described the arrival of the US in the Eastern Visayas days after the powerful storm as “a game changer” as the government was clearly overwhelmed by the massive destruction brought by Yolanda.

The US was about to begin its relief operations in the towns of Guiuan, Hernani and Borongan in Eastern Samar when the JTF 505 was “disestablished,” the source said.

A statement from the US Embassy on Tuesday did not give a clear explanation on why the JTF 505 had folded up.

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