Chinese military delivers aid to Malaysia

BEIJING - Two IL-76 air transportation aircraft had returned to China after delivering aid to flood-struck Malaysia, a military spokesman said Monday afternoon.

The two aircraft had delivered tents, generators, sewage pumps and water purifying equipment to Kuala Lumpur on Monday morning, the spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, Shen Jinke, said.

Since the tail-end of 2014, Malaysia has seen its worst bout of flooding in 45 years, with over 200,000 people displaced by the rising water.

The Chinese government announced on Saturday that it would offer humanitarian aid worth 20 million yuan ($3.26 million), to Malaysia and Sri Lanka for flood relief operations.

The PLA Air Force has been playing a bigger role in international disaster relief in recent years, delivering relief materials to Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand.

In December, PLA Air Force planes delivered water to Maldives, when the Island nation suffered an acute water shortage.

These relief operations have shown to the world that China is a responsible member of the international community, Shen said.