In response to major disasters that have occurred in the region, ASEAN Member States came up with the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response or AADMER, which entered into force on 24 December 2009. The agreement serves as the policy backbone and common framework that facilitates ASEAN' s cooperation and coordination in responding to disasters as well as building resilient communities in the region. This legally binding instrument is not only a pioneering agreement that binds and affirms ASEAN' s commitment to the Hyogo Framework of Action and its successor, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, but is also an ambitious accord of regional cooperation in all areas of disaster risk management from prevention to recovery.