China deploys large military cargo aircraft to deliver aid to flood-hit Pakistan

China on Tuesday dispatched two of its largest military cargo aircraft, the Y-20, to deliver humanitarian aid to Pakistan, which is facing severe floods in large parts of the country.

The aircraft, capable of carrying over 60 tonnes of cargo, left an airport in southwest China’s Sichuan, a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to his Pakistani counterpart, Arif Alvi, over the floods.

The aircraft were scheduled to reach Karachi on Tuesday night.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said the aircraft will deliver 3,000 tents and other aid.

“As all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ‘ironclad’ friends, China and Pakistan have been sharing weal and woe for a long time, reaching out to each other and responding to major challenges such as natural disasters side by side, Zhao was quoted as saying at the regular ministry briefing on Tuesday.

China immediately responded to the situation and will continue to provide “much needed” help to Pakistan in disaster relief, Zhao added.

The state-run tabloid Global Times reported that two more aircraft from China will carry another batch of humanitarian aid to Pakistan on Wednesday.

Over 33 million people and 72 districts have been affected by the ongoing floods in Pakistan caused by this season’s monsoon rains, which started in mid-June, China’s Xinhua news agency said in a report on Tuesday.

According to a report released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and quoted by Xinhua, the country’s southern Sindh province remained the worst-hit region as 23 of its districts and over 14.5 million people have been affected by the floods.

This will be the second time that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air force sent Y-20 cargo aircraft to Pakistan: The domestically developed cargo aircraft’s first foreign tour was to Pakistan in 2020 when it delivered aid related to Covid-19 pandemic.

In July, six Y-20 aircraft delivered aid to Afghanistan after an earthquake killed at least ,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

The PLA aircraft delivered some 105 tonnes of aid over three days, Chinese national broadcaster CCTV had then reported.