ASEAN militaries agree to team up for disasters
ASEAN militaries agree to team up for disasters
HUA HIN, Thailand (AFP): Southeast Asian army commanders
pledged at their first ever meeting Tuesday to devise ways their
forces could join together to handle humanitarian disasters in
the region.
"We have agreed to cooperate more closely on disaster relief
cooperation, for situations which are beyond the capabilities of
a single nation to deal with," said Thailand's army commander
Gen. Surayud Chulanont.
"We will now begin to work on the details of how we can help
each other."
A memorandum of understanding would be drafted by Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials and handed to member
governments in January for their approval, he said after the one-
day meet.
Surayud downplayed suggestions that the absence of army chiefs
from Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam from the gathering in this Thai
resort town would leave the three nations outside the agreement
and hamper the new initiative.
"We will not enforce cooperation by any country -- if they
want to cooperate then they can," he said, adding that neither
would it impinge on ASEAN's policy of non-interference in member
nations' affairs.
The Thai chief said the next meeting of ASEAN commanders would
be held in the Philippines next year, paving the way for it to
become an annual fixture.
"It's possible that it will be held every year from now on,"
he said.
U.S. army chief Eric Shinseki, a guest speaker at the meeting,
said such exchanges were a vital part of his army's efforts to
come to grips with future challenges and create a more responsive
and versatile force.
And exercises like the "Cobra Gold" annual war games in
Thailand were an important tool for militaries to learn how to
deal with their new post-Cold War duties, he said.
"Ultimately, these sharing efforts will pay off in the
operational arena in the conduct of peacekeeping, counterdrug and
humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions."
"As we transform the army to be more strategically responsive
to crises around the globe, we will take the lessons of those
operations and share them with our partners as we strive to
improve our capabilities."
Shinseki said the shortcomings of the US army had been exposed
in the 10 years since the Cold War ended.
"Frankly, our heavy forces are too heavy, and our light forces
lack staying power," he said. "To address these shortcomings, we
have decided to undertake our most comprehensive transformation
effort in over a century."
At the opening ceremony of the ASEAN meeting on Tuesday,
Surayud said strong links between Southeast Asian militaries
would help boost regional security and improve disaster response
capabilities.
"Though regional stability remains basically sound, there are
still some security issues of common concern that will challenge
us as we enter into the next millennium," he said.
"Security dialog and cooperation among ASEAN chiefs of armies
can contribute to regional peace and security."
Economic prosperity depended on efforts to work together to
"build and strengthen a stable and peaceful region," he said.
"Regional defense establishments will convey a strong message of
the region's determination to preserve peace and stability."
However, that image of unity took a severe knock as the army
chiefs assembled in this resort town without their counterparts
from Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, who had all said busy schedules
would keep them away.
The Thai hosts have tried to downplay the significance of the
trio's decision to instead send deputies, insisting they were
happy to have secured the attendance of seven army chiefs for the
inaugural meeting.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.