Statement from the Chairman of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management
Indonesia was again struck by a devastating earthquake on 27 May 2006 which claimed over 5,000 lives and caused extensive damage to property in Yogyakarta and Central Java. Assisting teams from the ASEAN Member Countries were among the first to respond to the earthquake, bringing in search and rescue teams, as well as medical and other emergency supplies. Currently, teams from five ASEAN Member Countries, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, are at various locations in Yogyakarta and Central Java providing medical assistance and relief efforts to the earthquake victims in close coordination with the Indonesian authorities. Other ASEAN Member Countries, including Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam, are sending food supplies and cash contributions to Indonesia.
The ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) coordinated the joint emergency response efforts within the framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response. The ASEAN Secretariat served as the ACDM Secretariat and has been on standby since the day of the earthquake, maintaining close contact with the ACDM Chairman, the focal points from the ASEAN Member Countries, the Indonesian authorities as well as the contingent commanders and team leaders to monitor the emergency response effort on a daily basis. Daily situation reports are prepared to provide information on the progress of operations, priority needs of the affected country and contact information. Administrative arrangements are also made to facilitate the receiving of assisting personnel and emergency supplies.
Indonesia’s National Coordinating Board for Management of Disaster and the Handling of Internally Displaced Persons (BAKORNAS PBP), the current Chairman of the ACDM, called for an informal gathering of the contingent commanders and team leaders of the assisting teams from ASEAN Member Countries on Sunday, 4 June 2006, to touch base with the teams and monitor the progress of their respective operations since their arrival, including their accomplishments and challenges faced thus far.
The gathering was held at Singapore’s operation base located at the Pleret football field in Bantul, Yogyakarta, and was attended by the contingent commanders and leaders of the assisting teams from the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and an ASEAN Secretariat representative. The ACDM Chairman was accompanied by the representative from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ACDM Chairman and the ASEAN Secretariat also visited Malaysia’s base camp, located across the official residence of the head of district of Bantul in the later part of the day, and met with the Malaysia’s contingent commander on the next day (5 June 2006).
The ACDM, which championed the development of the Agreement, will use the experiences from the current joint emergency response efforts as lessons learnt to operationalise the Agreement and improve future joint emergency response. Among the issues identified were the need to realise the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) to facilitate cross border movement of relief efforts and coordination among countries in joint emergency response.
The ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response was signed by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN in July 2005. The Agreement provides a regional comprehensive platform to strengthen preventive, monitoring and mitigation measures to reduce disaster losses in the region. The Agreement will enter into force upon ratification by all ASEAN Member Countries. So far, Thailand has ratified the Agreement while other ASEAN Member Countries are in the process of ratifying the Agreement. Even as the Agreement is being ratified, ASEAN Member Countries have begun to implement many of the provisions of the Agreement. The first-ever ASEAN regional disaster emergency response simulation exercise (code-named ARDEX-05) based on an earthquake scenario was held in Selangor, Malaysia in September 2005. ARDEX-06, which plans to simulate a flood disaster, will be held in Cambodia in September 2006. ASEAN Member Countries have also started formulating standard operating procedures for regional standby arrangements, mobilisation of military and civilian personnel and assets, and coordination of joint disaster relief and emergency response operations. A regional inventory of assets and capacities is being compiled based on earmarked assets from the ASEAN Member Countries.
Further details about ongoing joint emergency response efforts of the ASEAN Member Countries can be obtained from the ACDM Secretariat at disaster-relief@aseansec.org“>disaster-relief@aseansec.org.
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Issued by:
ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management
7 June 2006
For media inquiries please contact:
Adelina Kamal, Environment and Disaster Management, Bureau for Resources Development, ASEAN Secretariat, Tel +(6221) 7262991 ext. 316, e-mail: lina@aseansec.org“>lina@aseansec.org
