Time for China to save Nepal in flood battle

By Hu Weijia Source:Global Times Published: 2016/7/29 0:13:00

A news photograph showing soldiers rescuing a Nepalese woman from floodwaters was circulated on the Chinese Internet on Thursday, winning empathy as many people in China are working to fight their own floods at the same time.

The recent flooding in Nepal has killed 58 people and left thousands homeless across the South Asian nation, media reports said Thursday. Although Sino-Nepal ties face uncertainty after Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation last week, the two neighboring countries may need to think about speeding up cooperation over disaster relief. At the least, Oli's resignation should not be allowed to hinder flood-damaged areas' chances of getting immediate humanitarian assistance from China.

As for China, many parts of the country have also been battered by heavy rainfalls, causing floods and landslides. Chinese President Xi Jinping last week underscored effective organization of rescue teams and it is gratifying to see that flooding has been alleviated.

In this regard, China and Nepal have a large potential for sharing experiences in relief work and the rescue teams from China can provide assistance to Nepalese people affected by the floods.

It may even be necessary to set up a more normalized cooperation mechanism for relief work between the two countries. Nepal often experiences grave flooding during the summer. According to media reports, landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rains killed at least 50 people in remote parts of the South Asian country in 2013. Additionally, Nepal is also an earthquake-prone nation, having just suffered a 8.1-magnitude earthquake last year which killed thousands.

Soon after the massive earthquake devastated Nepal, China quickly sent experienced rescue workers to the country. According to media reports, Chinese troops entered Nepal last May to help with relief work, setting a precedent for bilateral disaster relief cooperation between the two countries.

In past years, China has dispatched troops to take part in joint humanitarian rescue and disaster relief exercises held by ASEAN members along with eight other countries. It seems worth considering that similar cooperation should be held between China and Nepal.

Understandably, a step toward closer ties between the two countries, especially one involving military cooperation, may hit a nerve in India. But hopefully India will refrain from sabotaging cooperation centered on humanitarian aid.

China has recently pledged to gradually increase its international aid across the globe. In the past few years, China has focused mainly on economic aid, but now the country should broaden its cooperation to include humanitarian rescue.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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