Asia-Pacific army chiefs eye enhanced regional disaster relief

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TOKYO, Aug. 28 Kyodo -
The army chiefs of 22 Asia-Pacific countries agreed in their four-day
conference in Tokyo that ended Friday to seek enhanced disaster relief
activities in the region by teaming up with civilian organizations and
deepening multilateral cooperation.
In the biennial Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference, which was co-hosted by the
chiefs of staff of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Army,
delegates introduced their past efforts to provide relief in disaster-stricken
areas in the region where about 90 percent of the world's disaster victims
converge and 45 percent of total economic losses are reported.
The gathering was held in Tokyo for the first time and senior army officers
from such countries as Australia, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, South Korea,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam took
part.
Lt. Gen. Toshiyuki Morotomi, commanding general of the GSDF's Research and
Development Command, told a news conference following the end of the meeting
that participants underlined the importance of information sharing and
confidence building under the multilateral framework so as to better engage in
relief operations.
Morotomi said nonmilitary organizations such as governments and civic groups
should mainly control overall relief activities and that the military should
support them.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, echoed Morotomoi,
saying the military should play a supporting role. ''It's important for the
military to work with other government agencies and nongovernmental
organizations because they are the ones that must provide long-term support in
the event of a disaster,'' he said.
Mixon also said delegates agreed on the need to ''have more exercises together
to practice procedures and processes in dealing with disaster-type
situations.''
==Kyodo