Naval exercise improves regional disaster response

Navies from 17 countries began a six-day joint exercise on March 29 in the East Sea to improve coordinated efforts in coping with natural calamities.
Navies from 17 countries began asix-day joint exercise on March 29 in the East Sea to improvecoordinated efforts in coping with natural calamities.

The drill, which involved 4,885 navy personnel from 10 members of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its seven dialoguepartners China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, the Republic ofKorea, and the US, is part of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Managementand Emergency Response.

Australia, along with theUnited Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Netherlands, Spain andthe ASEAN Secretariat, are participating as observers.

The exercise aims to better the organisation of internationalassistance in future natural disasters, said Djoko Suyanto, coordinatingminister for political, legal and security affairs, at the openingceremony on Batam island, near Singapore.

Italso means to provide more knowledge on disaster mitigation for navyofficers in the region as well as harmonise various national, regional,and international methods to cope with the issue, according to Lt.Col.Agus Cahyono, spokesman of the Western Fleet of the Indonesian Navy.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA

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