Slow response to a neighbour in distress

Thailand and Cambodia might be mired in domestic political chaos and the Preah Vihear verdict. Myanmar, which currently chairs Asean, might be preoccupied with reform, peace talks with insurgents and preparations for the Southeast Asian Games. Other countries in the region have plenty to do at home. But all of us should take time right now to focus on the Philippines and the devastation wrought there by super-typhoon Haiyan. Its fellow Asean members should be first in the international community to deliver emergency relief and assistance. 

The central Philippine city of Tacloban is in ruins after being ravaged by one of the strongest storms on record. The official death toll stands in the hundreds, but more than 10,000 are thought to have been killed. The devastation isn’t close to that of the 2004 tsunami, but this is still a crisis on an international scale and it demands an emergency response from the global community, led by the Philippines’ friends in Southeast Asia.

Haiyan slammed into six central Philippine islands last Friday, flattening whole towns and villages. It moved away from the country on Sunday, heading toward central and northern Vietnam, where authorities ordered 500,000 people to move to shelters. Asean will have more work to do if Vietnam suffers.

Asean, however, was not the first to respond to the Philippines’ plight. The United States stepped in almost immediately, with Secretary of State John Kerry stating that America “stands ready to help”. US military facilities in the Pacific responded quickly, sending ships and aircraft to support search-and-rescue operations and preparing airlifts of emergency supplies.

The European Union, tens of thousands of kilometres from Southeast Asia, was also standing by, ready to provide urgent relief and assistance upon request. Meanwhile, United Nations humanitarian agencies are working closely with authorities in Manila to respond swiftly with aid. 

All members of Asean have experience in dealing with natural disasters. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and devastating storms are not infrequent in our region. Countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines sit amid the so-called “Pacific ring of fire”, an area of seismic activity that produces frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. 

As such, the Philippines is used to handling natural disasters. But that should not be an excuse for a slow response from fellow members of the regional bloc. On the contrary, the group is supposed to have great experience and expertise in handling such situations thus should have dispatched the first rescue teams instead of countries or organisations outside the region.

But Asean as a group has no rapid-response rescue teams and no mechanism to deal with emergencies. It needs time to respond to big disasters in the vicinity, first calling a meeting and then mobilising resources to help a fellow member in distress. 

That slow and clumsy reaction to regional emergencies must change. With climate change bringing more frequent and unpredictable natural disasters to Southeast Asia, it’s time that Asean forged measures for a timely and sufficient response to such regional emergencies.