In a major rescue exercise, India on Thursday evacuated 195 Indian nationals, who were seeking to escape the coronavirus outbreak, from Japan and China. While 119 individuals were evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan, Diamond Princess, 76 more were brought back from Wuhan in China by a relief military aircraft.Significantly, India also evacuated 36 foreign nationals from Wuhan and 5 more from Japan. ``The evacuation has underscored the priority India attaches to the welfare of its citizens wherever they are,” said foreign secretary Harsh Shringla. He added that India was “happy to have been able to assist our friends from Bangladesh, Myanmar , Maldives and other friendly countries from our neighbourhood and beyond in the evacuations from both China and Japan”.Of the 36 foreign nationals evacuated from Wuhan, 23 are from Bangladesh, 6 from China, 2 each from Myanmar and Maldives and one each from South Africa, USA and Madagascar. Of the 5 from Japan, there are 2 from Sri Lanka and one each from Nepal, South Africa and Peru.The Indian relief flight to Wuhan also carried 15,000 kg of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment. These supplies were delivered by an Indian Air Force C-17 special flight which landed on Wuhan, China in late evening of 26 February.The medical supplies follow PM Narendra Modi’s letter to President Xi Jinping offering assistance to deal with the crisis. ``The medical supplies will help augment the China’s efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation,’’ said MEA in a statement.Some of India’s neighbours like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had sought help from India to evacuate their citizens. The government said assistance to them was in keeping with India’s neighbourhood first policy. India has until now operated 3 relief flights from Wuhan, evacuating 723 Indian nationals and 43 foreign nationals.In the case of Japan, a special Air India flight landed in New Delhi from Tokyo Thursday, bringing back 119 Indian nationals (113 crew members and 6 passengers) who were on-board the Diamond Princess Cruise ship docked off at Yokohama in Japan.``In line with India’s neighbourhood first policy and Indo-Pacific vision, the special flight also evacuated 5 foreign nationals—2 Sri Lankans, 1 Nepalese, 1 South African and 1 Peruvian. All the evacuees will undergo a14 day quarantine at the quarantine facility set up by the Indian Army in Manesar , Haryana,’’ said MEA in a statement.Three Indian crew members didn't board the special flight and conveyed their wish, according to the government, to continue their stay on-board the Cruise ship to complete the period of extended quarantine put in place by the Government of Japan.``Out of the total 138 Indian nationals originally on-board the Diamond Princess, 16 Indian crew members have tested positive for Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) and are receiving necessary medical care and treatment at onshore medical facilities in Japan. Embassy of India in Tokyo has established contact with these individuals and is continuously following-up on their recovery,’’ said the foreign ministry.The ship was put under quarantine by Japan on 5th February 2020 for 14 days as one of the passengers who had disembarked from the ship had tested positive for COVID-19. The quarantine period was extended by the Japanese government as the crew members were performing their regular duties during the initial quarantine period of 14 days.