Sixteen members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, set off from Ruili City in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Saturday morning, heading to northern Myanmar’s earthquake zone to aid in relief operations..
The Blue Sky Rescue Team is China's largest non-governmental professional emergency rescue organization.
The team traveled in five vehicles and carried small-scale rescue equipment and medical supplies.
At the request of Myanmar government, the Chinese government has also sent a rescue team with 82 members to carry out humanitarian relief operations. The team flew from Beijing Capital Airport to Myanmar on Saturday.
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Southeast Asian country on Friday. So far, over 1,000 people had been confirmed dead in the disaster.
More Chinese rescuers join efforts to aid quake-hit Myanmar
Japanese protesters gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Monday, voicing opposition to proposed revisions to three security documents.
The demonstration came the same day Japan’s government held its first expert panel meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss updates to the three documents, including the National Security Strategy.
Protesters said the government is taking steps they view as dangerous, including easing restrictions on the export of lethal weapons and seeking changes to Japan’s pacifist constitution.
"The export of lethal weapons in itself violates the constitution. From the beginning, they should never have had such weapons. So it is absolutely something we can not allow,” said one protester.
"This will evolve into a situation where wars can be constantly launched, thereby leading to the spread of war. That’s why I believe this is absolutely unacceptable. Since we cannot stop the weapons industry, they’ll try to start wars to keep it going. Profiting from weapons is absolutely not allowed and this itself also violates Article 9 of the constitution, so it must not be done," another protester warned.
Several protesters also argued that amending the constitution is unacceptable.
"I believe amending the constitution is absolutely not allowed. I think we have been able to live in peace until now because the constitution exists. With excuses like ‘the times have changed’, they’re trying to change it casually, turning our country, which has long taken an anti-war stance, toward war. Anyone can clearly see that intention. So I believe we must firmly oppose it," said a man.
"I feel an extremely strong sense of crisis. I also work in an educational institution. The children we have worked so hard to raise being sent to the battlefield - that is completely unacceptable," said a woman.
Japan's current National Security Strategy and two related documents, formulated in 2022, were designed to cover the next 10 years, but the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to move up the timetable to accelerate the revision process.
Increasing defense spending is one of the key topics of the meeting.
The expert panel will meet once a month before finalizing a proposal around the fall, after which Takaichi's cabinet aims to approve the revision by year-end.
Japanese protesters rally against proposed revisions to three security documents
