Myanmar, which has a very long coastal line at 2,228 kilometers, is mainly exposed to water-related disasters. The decade before Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in 2008, large-scale disasters had been occurring in three- to five- year intervals.
“One ASEAN, One Response” is far from just a tagline. It is a well thought out concept born out of a necessity to connect the real disaster experience from ground zero to the highest level of the diplomatic arena in ASEAN. It was borne from ASEAN’s experience in its response to the 2013 Super Typhoon … Can ASEAN Respond to a Slow-Onset Disaster?
When Super Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) struck the Philippines on 7 November 2013, Rowel Balais and his family hunkered down in their home in the town of Palo, Leyte province. Along with Tacloban city, it was one of the hardest hit areas by the deadly typhoon. Haiyan affected 16 million people and killed over … Rowel Balais
Rangi Sudrajat dreamed of being a humanitarian worker since she was a young girl. She decided to pursue a path of helping the less fortunate, after watching the news about refugees affected by the Kosovo war.
Over the period 2015-2020, Southeast Asia faced its most severe droughts in decades, with devastating impacts. No country in our region has been spared. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, our news headlines would have been dominated by drought impacts and recovery.
Super Typhoon Goni slammed the northeastern coast of the Philippines on the first day of November. The country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reports that as of 4 November, the typhoon had caused at least 20 deaths and affected more than two million people in 12 regions.
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), established in 1973 and currently one of ASEAN’s oldest entities, plays a key role in the ASEAN Community building process. AIPA’s objectives are to build closer cooperation among the 10 national legislatures and their members of parliament, and capitalise on the greater participation of ASEAN peoples, via inter-parliamentary cooperation, to contribute … Parliamentary Diplomacy for a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN
In yet another first, the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings were convened virtually from 9-12 September 2020. In view of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, major power rivalry and looming economic recession, the 53rd AMM provided an important opportunity for the ministers to discuss ways and means to advance ASEAN’s Community building … ASEAN and External Partners Forge Deeper Cooperation in the Midst of COVID-19
In a special virtual online meeting held on 19 August 2020, the ministers overseeing ASEAN’s cooperation on rural development and poverty eradication gathered to discuss initiatives that are being undertaken at the national level to protect the poor from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.