A senior Chinese military officer has dismissed fears that the armed forces personnel engaged in earthquake rescue operations could run out of food, promising the country's military logistic systems would guarantee the troops would eat.

"We have a well-developed logistics system that will guarantee the food supplies through various means of transportation", said Xie Weikuan, Director General of the Operational Logistic Planning Bureau of the Headquarters of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA),

Xie told a press conference in Beijing on Sunday that troops, which left in a rush for the rescue missions, were already supplied with up to 10 days of food when they arrived in the quake-hit areas.

Four catering centers had been established by the Chengdu Military Area Command in charge of providing the soldiers with hot food, said Xie.

"Please don't worry about the food supplies to the armed forces", Xie said.

The military also shouldered the responsibility for ensuring food supplies to local people in the quake zones, he said.

"Around 300,000 daily field rations were airdropped to them and hot food was available in our four military catering centers," Xie said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)