21 NATIONS WILLING TO OFFER HUMANITARIAN AID BY AIR

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and
the air forces of 20 other countries are willing to despatch humanitarian aid on
short notice to any country facing a disaster, said RMAF operational readiness
director Col Mustak Ahmad.

"The RMAF base in Subang can be a suitable hub for aid missions besides its
strategic location and being relatively disaster free.

"As such, we will hold more exercises so that each nation can share ideas
and experiences in coordinating efforts in disaster relief," he told reporters
after witnessing the Pacific Airlift Rally 2009 (PAR2009) exercise in Cuphing
here Thursday.

The exercise, jointly held by the United States Air Force and the RMAF,
started at the Subang air base Wednesday and will end on Saturday.

Besides Malaysia and the US, 19 other countries are involved in the
exercise. They are Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, India,
Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga and Vietnam.

--BERNAMA