August 20, 2026 | 04:44 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is focusing on leveraging its existing national capacity and resources to mitigate the impact of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that recently struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Thus, foreign assistance is not yet required, said the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"We are focusing on fulfilling the needs of affected communities through existing national capacity and resources," said ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang at a media briefing in Jakarta on Thursda, August 20, 2026.
Nevertheless, Indonesia extends its appreciation for the attention and expressions of solidarity from friendly countries in relation to the disaster in NTT, as well as offers to aid the victims and post-disaster restoration.
According to Yvonne, Foreign Minister Sugiono has personally reached out to several foreign ambassadors to thank them for their concern.
"We consider this very meaningful for us during this difficult time," she said.
When asked whether aid for earthquake victims would be discussed during the meeting between Sugiono and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Indonesia-China Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue (CSD) on Friday, Yvonne stated that the matter would be discussed further.
Previously, at a press conference in Beijing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the Chinese government continued to monitor developments related to the earthquake disaster, before later expressing its willingness to assist with disaster recovery in Indonesia.
Lin Jian confirmed that several Chinese citizens were injured in the earthquake in NTT.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that the earthquake death toll reached 71 as of Wednesday.
Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Berton SP Panjaitan, added that as of Tuesday evening, the total aid sent as of August 18 reached 398 tons, with logistics sent by air reaching 165 tons.
Read: NTT Earthquake Victims Block Road over Lack of Aid
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