A Taiwanese Air Force transporter plane landed on Sunday at San Isidro Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, en route to earthquake-devastated Haiti to deliver relief supplies.
The plane landed at several locations in the US en route, marking the first time a Taiwanese military aircraft landed in US territory since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1979. The US has made it clear the request by the Taiwanese military was granted purely on humanitarian concerns.
The C-130 transport plane, with 6 tonnes of medical and other supplies on board, arrived at San Isidro Military Airport at 11:22am.
PHOTO: CNA
Taiwanese Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Isaac Tsai (蔡孟宏) then handed the cargo to Ambassador Fritz Cineas. The supplies, which include pain relief agents, hemostats, flu medicine, bandages and one-touch medical devices, were scheduled to arrive by truck in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at 8am yesterday.
On behalf of the Haitian government, Cineas expressed appreciation for the generosity of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Taiwanese authorities in helping Haitian quake victims. Haitians will forever remember Taiwan’s assistance, he said.
Tsai said 66 members of the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps are carrying out relief operations in Haiti, while personnel from the Taiwan branch of World Vision will soon arrive.
Tsai said the embassy in Santo Domingo would provide the best possible logistical assistance to Taiwanese relief workers operating in Haiti.
Asked whether the transport aircraft had made refueling stops at three US military airports, Colonel Chang Hai-bin (張海濱) said the C-130 had stopped in Los Angeles and at another airport along the East Coast prior to landing, adding that more details concerning the flight would be made public after the mission has been completed.
“We have accomplished 99 percent of the mission. Please allow me to [remain silent on] certain classified information at the moment. The 1 percent left will be the return flight to Taiwan,” Chang said.
Asked why the national flag on the plane was blacked out, he said it was done to avoid “complications” for countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
“The same was done when a transport plane dispatched to deliver aid to victims of the [2006] tsunami [landed in Singapore],” he said.
A Republic of China emblem was pasted on the aircraft immediately after it touched down at San Isidro Airport, reports said.
Chang and 22 crew members departed from Songshan Airport on Friday and spent about 40 hours en route to the Dominican Republic.
Meanwhile, Air Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Wu Chien-hsing (吳建行) told reporters yesterday that once the plane returns to Taiwan, the total distance traveled on the mission would be more than 4,000km — the longest run ever undertaken by a Taiwanese C-130.
The trip was delayed by two days because of snowstorms in California, but the delays were expected before takeoff, Wu said. He did not comment on the exact whereabouts of the aircraft, only saying that it was heading back home.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) was in charge of the mission and that the defense ministry was acting under instructions from the foreign ministry.
The air force is on stand-by and could be mobilized anytime for a second mission to the Caribbean region if necessary, the MND said.
The American Institute in Taiwan said it had not received another request from Taiwanese authorities for clearance for a second mission.
Taiwan has committed US$5 million in cash donations and dispatched two medical teams to Haiti, with three more on the way. Taiwanese public donations have reached more than US$300,000, with more than 84 tonnes of supplies, MOFA said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU AND JIMMY CHUANG
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