A FIRST FOR SINO SHIP Peace Ark, a Chinese Navy hospital ship, leaves a base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, for a relief mission to the typhoon-devastated Philippines. It is considered the first Chinese Navy ship to enter Philippine waters with Manila’s “consent” since the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea between the two countries ensued. AP FILE PHOTO/EUGENE HOSHIKO
MANILA, Philippines – Even though the Philippines and China are embroiled in a bitter territorial dispute, Filipinos in areas devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) welcomed Chinese medical teams and even had “many touching moments together.”
“Our teams had close [relations] with the local people and they were most welcomed by the local people,” Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing said during a dinner reception with Chinese and Philippine media Tuesday in the Embassy of China.
“Before they departed, the local people spontaneously went to see them off and posted ‘thank you China’ [messages] in the place where they stayed and they have had many touching moments together,” she said.
China had provided relief goods worth P110 million and $200,000 worth of “donations” along with two medical teams that went to Tacloban and Abuyog in Leyte, Ma said.
Along with the Hospital ship Peace Ark in the gulf of Leyte, more than 6,000 patients were treated, she said.
Ambassador Ma said that “I hope this [act of] goodwill shown by the Chinese government and the Chinese people towards the Philippine people in a time of difficulty would be perceived [and assessed] here among the people.”
“I talked to a few participants here, they told me that the Chinese efforts have been really highlighted in media and also among the ordinary Filipinos. I’m very pleased to hear that,” she said.
China was previously criticized for donating only $100,000 of emergency humanitarian aid, after which it increased its aid and deployed the Peace Ark hospital ship.
The Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (Faith) website of the Philippine government showed, as of December 11, that China had donated P74,868,000 ($1,700,000) worth of aid in non-cash and P4,404,000 ($100,000) worth of financial aid.
The full details of the aid provided by China however could not be accessed because the link to it directs to a press release dated May 28, 2013 about a meeting between the Philippines’ ambassador to China and the Executive Deputy Director of the International News Division of China Economic Net.
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