It is heartening to see the armed forces playing a decisive role in the rescue operations that commenced soon after a magnitue-7 earthquake hit Lushan in the southwest of Sichuan province on Saturday morning. They are honoring the promise to be the nation's guardians.

A total of 19,000 soldiers and officers from China's military and armed police forces have been sent to the disaster zone, where they are working day and night under difficult conditions searching for survivors and helping people resettle. They have been using the Beidou satellite navigation system and unmanned aerial vehicles to help them in their endeavors.

Meanwhile, helicopters from the army aviation corps have been shuttling back and forth, airdropping supplies in areas that can't be reached by road and ferrying the injured out and rescue workers in.