Singapore to send over 500 military personnel to help Indonesia

Asian Economic News, Jan 10, 2005

SINGAPORE, Dec. 29 Kyodo

Singapore will send more than 500 military personnel to Indonesia to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster on Sumatra island, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The 530 servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces to be deployed include a 25-member medical team and an engineering team to help clear debris. A large navy vessel and four helicopters will also be sent for use in the relief efforts.

The latest contribution comes on top of the government's announcement earlier this week to contribute an aid package worth S$2 million (about $1.2 million) to Indonesia, including a S$500,000 cash donation to Singapore's Red Cross Society, and items such as tents, blankets, medical and food supplies.

The ship will help to transport supplies to the disaster area and serve as a helicopter staging area. The helicopters will conduct search and rescue operations, casualty evacuations and transport relief and logistical supplies.

The ministry said it will also deploy four helicopters to assist relief efforts in Thailand, which was also hit by Sunday's tsunami disaster. Singapore's Civil Defense Force will also send almost 50 personnel to Medan and Phuket to help search for missing people.

Singapore, one of the most affluent countries in Asia, was not affected by the quake and tsunami, which battered Southeast and South Asian countries across the Indian Ocean.

The ocean surge was triggered by a 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake, the biggest in 40 years, off Sumatra.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry has said one Singaporean was killed in Phuket and another in Sri Lanka, while 14 others are missing in Phuket and two in Aceh.

Cash donations have also been pouring from some of Singapore's biggest companies, with S$300,000 each from Singapore Airlines and the United Overseas Bank, and S$200,000 from DBS Bank.