Regional Cooperation in Disaster Management

A sense of urgency after several natural disasters has propelled Asian and Pacific nations into drawing up “concrete, practical” plans for cooperation in disaster management, a senior regional official has said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) concluded its annual meeting in Singapore last year with disaster management high on the agenda after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the earthquake in Sichuan, People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“Knowing that this region is very prone to natural disasters, I think there was a sense of urgency within the ARF to move expeditiously…and to be ready in the event the next disaster happens,” Pratap Parameswaran, head of the ARF Unit at the ASEAN secretariat, told the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

At the end of the meeting, the ARF announced it would hold its first regionwide disaster relief exercise and consider deploying military assets as part of plans to deepen cooperation on disaster management. The exercise is tentatively scheduled for this year in the Philippines.

The ARF, which includes the 10-member ASEAN and Australia, PRC, European Union, India, and United States, will explore the feasibility of listing military and civil defense assets to be deployed for disaster relief.

“Although the ARF is focused on security and defense issues, disaster relief has been an area for cooperation since 1997, with costs shared among members.” —IRIN •