A Chinese aircraft gifted to Tonga, which triggered the New Zealand government to suspend tourism aid, will be in operation from as early as next week. The New Zealand foreign minister said he would suspend more than US$8 million aid package until the MA-60 aircraft’s safety was certified to an international standard. But Tonga’s Deputy Prime Minister, Samiu Vaipulu, says Tonga will not buckle under pressure from Wellington. Samiu Vaipulu says the Real Tonga aircraft is certified, in the process of getting insurance, and will start flying domestically to Vava’u as early as next week.
For the full article see : http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=77852
It was suggested to me that if NZ doesn't give the aid money Tonga will probably source it from China... A case of expanding influence and declining influence!
There is some good discussion on the MA-60 in the comments on this post... The comments add another dimension to the debate... http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/bring-back-chathams-pacific.html
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