Asean to strengthen cooperation on disaster management

In a move initiated by Thailand, Asean leaders will issue a statement committing their countries to greater cooperation in flood prevention, mitigation, relief, recovery and rehabilitation, following their summit tomorrow.

Thailand needed to boost the role of Asean in disaster management since the effect of ongoing floods was being felt beyond its border in the region as a whole, and also perhaps globally, with production facilities of leading industries from countries such as Japan and the United States located in the country, said Deputy Foreign Minister Jullapong Nonsrichai.

"The efforts of one country alone might not be enough, whereas Asean has a lot of mechanisms and instruments to handle disasters, so we need cooperation and collective action," he said.

The statement by Asean would build confidence in the role and capacity of Thailand and Asean in rehabilitating the country from major disaster, Jullapong said after a pre-summit meeting of Asean foreign ministers.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who will be in Bali for the summit tomorrow, will express her gratitude to Asean members and partners who have helped relief efforts in Thailand.

A draft of the statement seen by The Nation calls for further cooperation among members, including sharing of best-practice methods for disaster management and management of water resources.

Countries in the region such as Cambodia, Vietnam and notably Thailand have faced severe flooding for months. 

In Thailand alone the severest flooding in half a century has killed more than 500 people and displaced millions of others, with parts of the capital now inundated.

Asean leaders agree that the flooding has not only threatened human life and national and regional economies, but also affected agricultural production, food security and the regional and global supply chain, the draft statement said.

The group emphasised the need to forge cooperation on flood management to cope with increasingly unpredictable weather conditions which may be attribute to climate change, it said.

The leaders would agree to strengthen the role of the Asean secretary-general as the region's humanitarian-assistance coordinator and enhance the capacity and ensure sustainability of the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management.

Asean leaders would also task the secretary-general and the Asean committee on disaster management with consulting with relevant sectoral bodies to find how Asean can better coordinate and prepare for flood disasters. 

The secretary and the committee will make recommendations on possible areas of cooperation in flood prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation among Asean members and between the group and partners.

Asean leaders also want to utilise the grouping's military assets and capacity in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief agreed upon by the region's defense ministers in Pattaya in February 2009.