ASEAN nations review disasters

Ministers from ASEAN countries have gathered in Ha Noi to review their efforts towards building an ASEAN community resilient to disasters.

Their specific objective is to assess the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) during the first phase from 2010 to 2012. They will also discuss an action plan for the second phase from 2013 to 2015.

Participants are urged to focus on streamlining the ASEAN agreement at the national level.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second meeting of parties, Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the ratification of AADMER had created an important regional framework strengthening disaster mitigation and response.

He said ASEAN members had made encouraging progress in risk identification, assessment and monitoring; prevention and mitigation; preparedness; and rehabilitation.

He urged participants to focus on streamlining the ASEAN agreement at the national level, giving priority to establishing early warning systems, raising awareness and investing in disaster-prepared infrastructure.

The first meeting of the conference was held in Jakarta last March.

ASEAN strengthens disaster measures

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will prioritise disaster management efforts in the co-operation within the member states as well as between the block and its dialogue partners.

People in northern Hoa Binh Province - home of Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant - practise responding to a dam break and evacuating in an emergency. ASEAN member countries have commited to enhancing co-operation in disaster mangement and emergency response.

As a region faced with increased frequency and intensity of disasters caused by natural hazards, the leaders of the region have shown heightened political support towards building resilience to disasters.

"The pinnacle of such strong commitment was the imminent adoption of the very first high-ranking declaration on enhancing co-operation in disaster management that is slated in the ASEAN Summit in October," ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh told Viet Nam News.

Minh was speaking at the second meeting of the conference of the parties to the ASEAN agreement on disaster management and emergency response (AADMER). The meeting which was held in Ha Noi yesterday, May 30, was attended by ministers in charge of disaster management from all ASEAN member states.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the AADMER had created an important regional policy framework and co-ordinating platform for disaster management in ASEAN.

The AADMER went into effect in December 2009. One of the objectives of this meeting was to outline the progress of implementation of the agreement during the first phase (2010-12).

Dung said ASEAN members had made encouraging progress in risk identification, assessment and monitoring, prevention and mitigation, preparedness and rehabilitation.

The Prime Minister of the host country said that during the next phase from 2013-15, ASEAN member states should attach more importance to the task of procuring resources to implement specific projects.

According to the newly-elected chair of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management Vu Van Tu, there were 17 flagship projects identified as priority for implementation. Among those are some of the major events that will take place this year.

He said one of them was a regional stimulation exercise that would be held in October 24-29th in Ha Noi aiming to test ASEAN's response mechanisms and the readiness level of ASEAN Co-ordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management.

There will be also a partnership conference to mobilise resources and support for the implementation of the AADMER slated to occur in Ha Noi in November, particularly with dialogue partners. The European Union, Japan and the United States have shown keen interest in working with ASEAN in this particular field, said ASEAN Secretary-General Minh.

Minh also announced that participants at the meeting had agreed to set up the Revolving Fund which was worth US$10,000 for emergency relief purposes. This was to provide resources for emergency relief that may occur during holidays where normal resources might not be available.

During the meeting, the parties also supported the proposal to form a joint task force in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The first meeting of the parties was held in Jakarta in March, 2012.

Fishermen need to be protected at sea

Vietnam has been implementing necessary measures to protect its fishermen in the East Sea, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said.

Minh was responding to media workers’ questions on the sidelines of the current National Assembly session in Hanoi on May 29, following recent tensions in the East Sea.

Most recently a Chinese ship rammed into a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the area within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, a move which was later denied by the Chinese side.

Vietnam opposed the Chinese ship’s ramming, saying it runs counter to an agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China.

The Vietnam National Assembly has adopted the Law of the Sea developed on the basis of the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with reference to international and state practice.

“Our stance is that our fishermen should be protected. We will continue with the diplomatic struggle,” said Minh.

FM Minh made clear the Vietnamese government’s consistent policy of settling East Sea sovereign disputes through peaceful dialogues and with respect for the UNCLOS.

“Vietnamese fishermen are entitled to fish in the country’s waters and they need to be protected legally,” said the FM.

He added that the Government will present a supplementary report on the East Sea issue at the ongoing NA session.

UK MPs visit Ho Chi Minh City

A delegation from the UK’s All-Party Parliament Group for Vietnam led by its Chair, Labour Member of Parliament (MP) George Howarth, is paying a working visit to Vietnam.

At a reception on May 30 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong said the delegation’s visit helps link UK businesses with Vietnamese counterparts.

HCM City is very interested in cooperating with the UK and London in particular in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, Hong added.

For his part, Howarth said the visit aims to further intensify the fine Vietnam-UK relationship, in the context of the 40 th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

He expressed his wish to promote cooperation with the city, especially in trade and investment.

Businesses from the UK have invested in 96 projects worth over 700 million USD in HCM City.

VNN/VOV/VNA