Rescue efforts underway in Sichuan landslide

All-out rescue efforts are underway on Sunday following a landslide that struck southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday, leaving one person dead, 28 missing, and two injured.

The landslide occurred at 11:50 on Saturday in Jinping Village, which is located in Junlian County in the city of Yibin.

The province has mobilized 949 personnel from sectors including the armed police, firefighting, emergency response, transportation, medical, telecommunication, and power supply, as well as more than 200 rescue equipment such as excavators and fire engines and several 360-degree slope radars to carry out or assist the rescue efforts.

Up to now, a total of 95 households with 360 residents have been evacuated to safe place.

"One of our key tasks is to search for the missing. The second is to draw safe zones, set up warning lines, and continuously evacuate residents from hazardous areas. The third is to ensure proper resettlement, provide emergency support, and prevent secondary disasters," said Yang Chuanxing, a member of the Yibin Detachment of the Sichuan Armed Police Corps.

According to authorities, some 50 million yuan (about 6.8 million U.S. dollars), allocated by the National Development and Reform Commission from the central budget, will be used to restore infrastructure and public facilities in the affected areas.

Also on Saturday, the Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the Ministry of Emergency Management, allocated 30 million yuan (about 4.1 million U.S. dollars) from the central natural disaster relief funds to support Sichuan in its rapid organization of rescue efforts.

"President Xi Jinping made important instructions, emphasizing the need to do everything possible to search for and rescue the missing, minimize casualties, and properly handle the aftermath. The Ministry of Emergency Management swiftly dispatched rescuers, mobilized relief materials, and sent a working group to the site to guide local rescue efforts. We are urgently discussing the rescue plan with all parties," said Zhao Ming, director of the Earthquake and Geological Disaster Relief Department of the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Rescue efforts underway in Sichuan landslide

A Chinese defense ministry spokesman on Friday criticized Japan's development of offensive weapons, calling it a dangerous departure from its pacifist constitution.

Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular press conference in response to a report that Japan's Defense Ministry has, for the first time, publicly disclosed details of its development of a new ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers, far exceeding the scope of its "exclusively defense-oriented policy," which is seen as an effort to develop offensive weapons following U.S. calls for allies to enhance their strike capabilities.

"In recent years, Japan has continuously breached constraints of its pacifist constitution, moving further down the path of military expansion, which is dangerous and unpopular. The lessons of history are not the distant past, as Japanese militarism once brought innumerable disasters to Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. We demand that Japan draw profound lessons from history, exercise caution regarding military security, and take concrete actions to promote regional peace and stability, thereby earning the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community," said Zhang.

Japan's current Constitution, drawn up under the Allied occupation following World War II, is best known for its Article 9, by which Japan renounces its right to wage war and promises that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."

China's defense ministry criticizes Japan's development of offensive weapons