In a short ceremony held at Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) Base at Ile Perseverance on Monday 29 April 2019; the People’s Republic of China presented a fleet of military vehicles to the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF).
The fifteen troop carriers and eleven trucks were officially handed over to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Colonel Clifford Roseline by the Chinese Ambassador to Seychelles H.E Mme. GUO Wei, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Blue Economy Mr Barry Faure, Commissioner of Police Mr Krishnan Labonte, Chief of Staff Colonel Michael Rosette, Principal Secretary for Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM) Mr Paul Labaleine, Acting Chief Officer of the Fire and Rescue Services Agency (FRSA) Mr Albert Rose, Senior SPDF and Police officers, as well as senior staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy.
The vehicles also come with a considerable consignment of essential spares. A group of Chinese technicians are currently in the country, to provide technical support for the vehicles and also carryout planned maintenance on Patrol Ship Etoile, a ship handed over by the People’s Republic of China to the local Coast Guard in 2014.
On accepting the donation, Colonel Roseline said that the vehicles with features adapted for use in hostile and hash environment were ideally suited for the types of operations the local agencies were bound to undertake in their line of duty. He also said, “Like the ship and other equipment we have received before, I want to reassure the Chinese Government and People, that we will take good care of the vehicles and put it to good use, at the service of our people,”
Whilst the vehicles are destined mainly for SPDF, a few will also be issued to other law enforcement agencies and disaster response services like DRDM and FRSA.
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