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| Park Chang-kwoun |
The number of people affected by natural disasters doubled, from 102 million in 2015 to 204 million in 2016, while the total damage also increased significantly.
Natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, pandemic diseases and social disasters like Japan's 2011 nuclear plant accident, hit the Asia-Pacific region frequently.
Considering the region is on the Ring of Fire that has a high possibility of earthquakes, that the impact of climate change is significant and that the population of cities is rapidly rising as a result of economic growth, disaster threats to the region are further increased. It is in this sense that disasters can trigger complex emergency situations due to many factors. Strengthening a system of regional defense cooperation to cope with large-scale disasters and complex situations, with prompt responses to minimize losses, will help restore situations effectively.
Republic of Korea's HADR policies and increased role of the military
The significance the military's role in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) management has been increasing. The military possesses lots of high-tech equipment, well-trained human resources and maintains an emergency response system that can promptly accomplish various tasks including disaster responses. It also has the strength of being able to perform more demanding missions that are difficult for civilians, such as those in a disputed territory. Because of these merits, the demand for the active role of the military in HADR missions is immensely high, and the military is placing more emphasis on HADR missions as well as conventional security missions.
The ROK has not been immune to the threats of disasters, including typhoons, heavy rain, earthquakes, wildfires, pandemic diseases and oil spills. Therefore, the ROK has developed a national disaster management system and maintained close civil-military cooperation.
The Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and each service have established the Disaster Countermeasures Center and coordinate closely with the government, while also setting up the 1:1 disaster cooperation arrangement with regional governments. Furthermore, the military is participating in government-wide training exercises for managing large-scale disasters and it has actually played a crucial role in responding to domestic disasters.
The ROK intends to expand its role and contribution to overseas disaster missions, in line with its growing status in the international arena. The Moon Jae-in administration has set a national security strategy that Korea should play an active role in contributing to regional and global peace promotion. Accordingly, the ROK government puts more importance on providing support for international HADR missions, as well as responding to the conventional threats it has confronted.
The ROK has set up relevant laws and took a "whole-of-government" approach to ensure effective support and necessary cooperation for international HADR missions. When a request for emergency assistance is made, a national-level public-private joint committee convenes and promptly decides on the matters. The primary role of the Korean military in international HADR missions includes transporting personnel and goods required for emergency relief and providing army supplies if necessary. Although its role related to overseas missions is still regarded as limited, the ROK military's role in future missions is expected to expand further. The ROK military is already actively participating in HADR missions in the field of international peacekeeping operations.
The ROK is always ready to send experts, medical staff and relevant supplies to overseas emergency relief missions. For example, its emergency relief agencies are ready to leave the country within 24 hours from the moment that a decision is made and to arrive at the site within 72 hours to perform the mission.
The ROK Air Force and Navy have accumulated appropriate assets to carry out international HADR missions effectively. The Air Force has C-130 and CN-235 aircraft that can transport personnel and supplies promptly within Asia. The Navy also has large transport ships, such as the LST (Landing Ship Tank.)
The ROK's military has actively accomplished international HADR missions. Since the dispatch of C-130 aircraft and two LSTs to transport relief supplies and equipment for the recovery mission after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, the Korean military has participated in international HADR missions 12 times. As a recent example, last month five C-130s transported 23 tons of relief supplies and rescue teams to the Laos dam accident. In April 2016, two C-130s transported relief supplies to the earthquake disaster in Kumamoto, Japan. In 2013, nine C-130s and four LSTs delivered humanitarian aid to the Haiyan typhoon disaster in the Philippines.
In particular, when an earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, Korean troops were dispatched the following month and carried out disaster relief and recovery activities for about three years. Korean military disaster relief in the Philippines in November 2013 after a powerful typhoon also should not be overlooked.
Defense cooperation for HADR missions
Regional and international defense cooperation for HADR missions is becoming increasingly important and is expected to protect millions of lives. Nonetheless, military participation in HADR missions on an international level should give equal consideration to its strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, the role of the military in HADR and its strengths in accomplishing missions should be utilized with caution.
The possible fields of defense cooperation include education and training, joint exercises and workshops, civil-military cooperation, expert exchanges, capacity building and information and lesson sharing.
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) held disaster relief exercises every two years from 2009 to 2015 to prepare for potential large-scale disasters, and the ROK co-hosted it with Thailand in 2013. The ADMM-Plus has held joint disaster relief exercises every three years since 2013. Moreover, HADR exercises were conducted during Cobra Gold 2018. At regional security and defense cooperation meetings, related cooperation measures are discussed and neighboring countries are actively supporting and cooperating in the event of regional disasters.
Nevertheless, it is indispensable to encourage the discussion of the following issues to promote defense cooperation for HADR missions. First and foremost is to shed a light on the military's role and contribution to HADR missions. There are many areas in disaster responses where the military can perform better than civilians.
Secondly, it is necessary for each country to develop appropriate capacities and institutions to carry out international HADR missions. Building up necessary capacities will enable countries to cope with sudden disaster relief situations effectively. Especially, the expertise and skills of the military when conducting HADR missions should be addressed.
Lastly, it is required to institutionalize defense cooperation for HADR missions through a variety of channels including regional security cooperation systems, such as the ARF or the ADMM-Plus, multilateral security cooperation systems and a bilateral cooperation system. Such cooperation will contribute greatly to boost mutual trust among regional counterparts.
Chang Kwoun Park, a retired Korean Navy Captain, is a senior research fellow at the Center for Security and Strategy Studies in the Korean Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) and the former director of the center.
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