Out of Necessity: ASEAN's Measures Regarding Disaster Relief in the 21st Century

Steven Keithley School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 3700 O Street NW
Washington, DC 20057, USA
smk79@georgetown.edu

ABSTRACT

Southeast Asia has always been a hotspot for catastrophic natural disasters. Despite that history, instead of being proactive in implementing disaster relief measures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been reactive, only making changes after major disasters have forced such decisions. This paper analyzes how the organization has responded to the most significant regional natural disasters since ASEAN's first notable disaster relief policy was implemented in 2003: the Boxing Day Tsunami and Cyclone Nargis. Through a discussion of these events and the reaction of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, this paper argues that ASEAN's disaster relief apparatus has, unfortunately, only been expanded when new disasters demonstrated certain weaknesses, and thus, ASEAN still has much room for growth in the realm of disaster management.

Keywords: ASEAN, Disaster relief, 21st century, Boxing day tsunami, Cyclone nargis, Reactive, Southeast asia, Policy.

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