ASEAN to conduct ARDEX-05 exercise

JAKARTA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will conduct a regional disaster emergency response simulation exercise on Monday in Selangor, Malaysia, the ASEAN Secretariat announced in Jakarta.

The exercise, known as ARDEX-05, will be the first regional exercise involving multiple ASEAN countries and will mobilize personnel and equipment across borders.

"The exercise will provide guidance and lessons for the development of ASEAN standby arrangements and standard operating procedures ...," the ASEAN Secretariat said in a statement.

It will be conducted within the framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response, signed by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN during the 38th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in the Laotian capital Vientiane in July this year.

The exercise will be based on the scenario of a serious earthquake in peninsular Malaysia, which would affect mostly the population dense state of Selangor. Malaysia would mobilize its emergency response capacities to respond to the situation, however the number of casualties would force it to call for regional assistance from countries like Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, the statement said. -- JP