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ASEAN BETTER FASTER

DURING the past three decades, the frequency of natural disasters has increased globally but the

worst increase has been in the Asia-Pacific region !e that as it "ay, ad#ances in the science of 

disaster ris$ "anage"ent point out that there are no true natural disasters %any natural ha&ards

are accelerated by hu"an acti#ity and no "atter how 'natural( the ha&ard, it is hu"an e)posure,

#ulnerability, resilience and preparedness that define whether a gi#en e#ent results "erely in a rainy

day or natural catastrophe In short, hu"an beha#ior can be regulated unli$e the weather

*tudies of e)periences about regulatory fra"ewor$s for reducing disaster ris$s, responding to

disasters and reco#ering fro" the" are still in their infancy +et states are increasingly turning to

legal instru"ents at the national, regional and international le#els to fight disasters Are those legalinstru"ents in place "eeting their potential to increase cooperation on disaster ris$ "anage"ent

and hu"anitarian response

he Asean Agree"ent on Disaster %anage"ent and ."ergency Response /AD%.R0 signed and

ratified by all ten "e"ber states is one such legal instru"ent Agreed on as an after"ath of the 1223

Great suna"i which hit, a"ong others, the coastal &ones of Indonesia and hailand resulting in

"uch loss of life and property, AD%.R was already in effect /14 Dece"ber 12240 when one of the

strongest typhoons e#er recorded, yphoon +olanda /5aiyan0, hit the 6isayas in the Philippines

*o"e of the "ilitaries of the *outheast Asian countries were forced to respond to the cala"ity but

their #oluntary efforts highlighted "ilitary operational shortco"ings in the region In "any ways, the

response was "ainly on a national basis *o"e transport aircraft and ships were sent but there was

not enough "ultinational cooperation Analysts trace the situation to the lac$ of trust and confidence

between "any go#ern"ents for which reason bilateral and trilateral arrange"ents "ay be "ore

effecti#e

 Aware of the need for greater cooperation in hu"anitarian assistance and disaster relief, hailand

and 7orea sponsored a *outheast Asian Regional 8oru" Disaster Relief .)ercise in hailand while

!runei Darussala" and *ingapore co-hosted in 129: a co"bined "ilitary "edicine;hu"anitarianassistance and disaster relief e)ercise with all ten Asean "e"bers in#ol#ed Additional region-wide

e)ercises were held in hailand in 1293 *ingapore, on the other hand, offered to the Ar"ed 8orces

of the Philippines its newly launched <hangi Regional 5u"anitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief 

<o-ordination <enter to organi&e "ulti-national "ilitary inter#ention in response to yphoon Ruby

/5agupit0 which "ade landfall in .astern *a"ar on = Dece"ber 1293 but was downgraded into a

tropical stor" soon after its landfall

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a$e note that while defense of so#ereignty is the pri"ary responsibility of the "ilitary, the

require"ent to respond to floods, earthqua$es, tsuna"is, #olcanic eruptions, etc is li$ely to re"ain a

secondary priority but one, nonetheless, which is li$ely to increasingly influence the "oderni&ation

dri#e of the Asean countries> "ilitary o#er the ne)t decades

In that connection, *ingapore procured large "ultipurpose a"phibious ships in 1293 *i"ilar efforts

at "oderni&ation are being e)erted by Indonesia, the Philippines, %yan"ar and 6ietna" e#en if,

ad"ittedly, security in the increasing territorial disputes is the pri"e "o#er for the heightened

e"phasis on the "ilitaries> capacity and capability in the region

o fulfill the "ilitary require"ents related to hu"anitarian search;rescue and relief operations,

procure"ent targets of Asean countries li$e "ulti-role helicopters and transport aircrafts would not

require new designs to fulfill the "ilitaries> secondary role ?hat is necessary is inter-operability of 

 @oint and "ulti-national "issions with greater co""and-and-control capabilities a"ong Asean>s

"ilitary considering the #astness of the region

In the light of scientific infor"ation that natural disasters are pro@ected to intensify in the Asia-Pacific

region in the future, the Asean Agree"ent on Disaster %anage"ent and ."ergency Response

"entioned abo#e could ser#e the Asean countries well if utili&ed effecti#ely and cohesi#ely As an

agree"ent on disaster preparedness, e"ergency response and rehabilitation, it is about e)pedited

custo"s and i""igration clearance faster "o#e"ent of relief goods, tools and personnel /included

are pro#ision of food, water sanitation facilities and te"porary shelters0 setting up of an Asean

disaster relief fund better utili&ation of ci#ilian and "ilitary personnel as well as stronger si"ulation

e)ercises to test e"ergency response

 Actually, an Asean <o-ordinating <entre for 5u"anitarian Assistance on Disaster %anage"ent

/A5A0 is functioning in Ba$arta to facilitate cross border "o#e"ent of relief efforts and coordination

a"ong "e"ber countries in @oint e"ergency response

 An AD%.R e#aluation report in 129: noted that "any ci#il society organi&ations are increasingly

in#ol#ed in ad#ocacy wor$ around disaster "anage"ent laws in countries such as <a"bodia, Caos,

Indonesia, hailand and the Philippines

5owe#er, there is a need to co"ple"ent legal instru"ents with strong research which could help

boost our understanding of the co"ple)ities underlying ris$ and disaster relief at all le#els