Governments across the globe have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon before it is too late. - AFP
MANILA: Asia-Pacific nations are rushing to evacuate thousands of their citizens and other residents amid the rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Officials from countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia said on Oct 2 that they are working to secure chartered flights to bring their people home while Beirut airport remains open.
South Korea, meanwhile, has deployed a military plane to hasten repatriation of its nationals.
The evacuation plans are under way as clashes intensify between Israel and Iran, as well as the Tehran-backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas. On Oct 3, at least six people were killed after Israel bombed central Beirut.
The Philippine government is chartering flights for more than 1,200 out of 11,000 Filipinos who sought to be repatriated from Lebanon.
But the repatriation process has been delayed due to the late issuances of exit clearances and flight cancellations as a result of explosions in Lebanon, said Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia.
Airlines across the globe scrambled to divert or cancel flights following Iran’s missile attack against Israel on Oct 1. Flights to Israel and Lebanon have been cancelled, with some carriers saying they will not resume operations until at least mid-October.
Olalia said the government is exploring other evacuation options, such as exiting Lebanon via land and sea, due to the possibility of a shutdown of Beirut airport.
“We have plotted an alternative, which is a land route to Damascus. Our personnel in the Middle East are on standby to provide augmentation help to the Migrant Workers’ Office in Lebanon on how our migrant workers can be taken to safer grounds,” he said.
The Philippine government has so far evacuated about 430 migrant workers and 28 of their dependants from the war-torn country since October 2023.
Repatriates are set to receive cash assistance from the government, while a contingency plan has already been set to ensure the safety of Filipinos who remain in Lebanon, though Olalia did not elaborate on the plans for now.
Indonesia has also begun evacuating its citizens from Lebanon, with its embassy in Beirut so far facilitating the return of at least 25 Indonesians since August.
Rolliansyah Soemirat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Oct 2 that several of the archipelago’s embassies in the Middle East are working together to ensure that Indonesians can be safely evacuated.
“Indonesian embassies are also keeping up communications with every Indonesian in their respective areas,” he said.
Indonesian media quoted the ministry’s director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities, Judha Nugraha, as saying on Oct 1 that there are 159 citizens in Lebanon, and that some of them have opted to remain in the country.
There are also around 1,000 military personnel from Indonesia stationed in Lebanon as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. The commander of Indonesia’s military, General Agus Subiyanto, said on Oct 2 that the soldiers there are doing well.
On Oct 2, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the safety of Indonesians in Lebanon must be prioritised, and their evacuation must be done “immediately”.
South Korean President Yoon Sek-yeol said the government has already dispatched a military aircraft to evacuate its nationals from the Middle East.
In a statement, he stressed the need for close cooperation with the international community to “swiftly restore stability” in the region.
This is not the first time South Korea has deployed a military plane to evacuate citizens from conflict zones.
In October 2023, it used a military plane to evacuate nationals in Israel, as well as its nationals from Sudan six months later.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters that 1,700 nationals and their families have expressed their desire to be repatriated from Lebanon.
Canberra has already secured 580 seats on flights departing on Oct 3 and Oct 5 for them.
She reiterated the government’s call for about 15,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents living in Lebanon to leave the country.
“Please take whatever option is available to you. Now is not the time for you to wait and see; now is the time to leave,” Wong said.
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has instructed the embassy in Tel Aviv to issue an advisory warning to Thais living in risky areas in Israel to evacuate if necessary.
There were about 30,000 Thais working in Israel before the Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023. About 9,000 were then repatriated in the ensuing conflict, but the rest of them opted to remain there.
Governments across the globe have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon before it is too late.
“Go while you still can,” Frank Mollen, Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon, said on Oct 1. - The Straits Times/ANN
