Myanmar earthquake: US response muted as Trump guts foreign aid; China and India lead rescue efforts

Even as the death toll from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar surpassed 1,700, a figure that is expected to rise, the absence of US team at the scene of the quake in the Southeast Asian country has raised significant concerns.

According to an NBC News report, while the teams from China, India, and Russia are rushing to assist, the US response appears muted, especially following President Donald Trump’s drastic cuts to foreign aid programmes.

The earthquake in Myanmar took place on the same day the State Department informed thousands of employees of the US Agency for International Development, which administers civilian foreign aid, that nearly all of their roles were being eliminated.

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These cuts to foreign aid programmes, which had previously accounted for less than 1% of the annual federal budget, could create an opening for authoritarian regimes like China to expand their influence, reported NBC News, citing critics.

While the US Embassy has pledged $2 million in assistance through local organisations and announced the deployment of a USAID emergency response team, the timeline for their arrival remains unclear.

This delay is particularly alarming, as the critical 72-hour window for rescuing survivors is drawing to a close, added the report.

Last week, the State Department said that the cuts to foreign aid had not impacted the US government’s ability to respond to the earthquake.

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However, the absence of US support is being felt in Myanmar, a country of 54 million people that, in addition to the earthquake, has been embroiled in a civil war for four years.

“We’ve seen a broad cut in humanitarian aid, that’s undeniable,” NBC News quoted Trevor Clark, UNICEF’s regional chief of emergency, as saying in Bangkok on Monday.

“What we’re focused on right now is just the immediate stuff. We’ve been able to mobilise some internal resources, and we’re confident that other sort of partners will step up,” Clark added.

Meanwhile, China has been at the forefront of an international rescue effort from which the US has been largely absent.

According to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, Beijing has announced $14 million in assistance for Myanmar, including 1,200 tents, 8,000 blankets and 40,000 first aid kits. A team of 118 Chinese rescuers arrived in the country Sunday along with six rescue dogs and two vehicles, in addition to 82 who arrived on Saturday.

India on Monday announced that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have commenced rescue efforts for approximately 170 monks trapped at the ‘U Hla Thein’ monastery in Myanmar as part of ‘Operation Brahma’.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that India has deployed NDRF teams along with military field hospitals to Myanmar to assist in the rescue operation.

Officials confirmed that a specialised rescue unit from the Indian Army’s 50 (I) Para Brigade was swiftly deployed to Myanmar.

The contingent, comprising 118 personnel skilled in medical and communications support, arrived in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar’s capital, on Saturday night.

In addition, Indian Navy vessels are transporting relief supplies to Yangon.

Russia has dispatched 20 rescuers, including dog handlers and drone operators, along with three planes that feature an airmobile hospital, as reported by the Russian state news agency Tass.

The international response to the earthquake is further complicated by the ongoing civil war, with the World Health Organization noting that aid delivery is hindered by damaged roads, collapsed bridges, unstable communications, and the challenges of civil conflict.

Myanmar’s military government, which took power in a 2021 coup, tightly controls access to the country and has continued airstrikes against rebel forces even amid ongoing aftershocks. Nevertheless, it has called for international assistance, inviting “any country” to help.

Thailand has also sent a rescue team to neighboring Myanmar while managing its own casualties from the quake, which caused buildings in Bangkok, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, to sway alarmingly.

In Bangkok, rescue efforts focus on a 33-story construction site that collapsed during the quake, trapping numerous workers. On Monday, rescuers recovered the 12th body from the wreckage, with a total of 19 fatalities reported across the city. Nine survivors have been located, but more than 70 individuals remain unaccounted for at the site.

With inputs from agencies