Photo By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal | U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosted the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Forum to take place in the U.S. from April 1 to April 3 as part of a 10-day long trip across the Asia-Pacific region where Secretary Hagel will speak with ASEAN defense ministers.
The forum included a roundtable discussion at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Inouye Regional Center. The focus was on humanitarian and disaster relief, a matter of concern in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Humanitarian assistance and natural disasters are with us every day and will continue to be,” Secretary Hagel said. “The more we continue to understand the science behind those natural disasters the more we can communicate and coordinate our efforts to help each other.”
Rajiv Shah, U.S. Agency for International Development administrator joined the secretary in leading the ASEAN roundtable.
“Natural disasters have cost the world roughly 300 billion dollars and 30,000 lives in the last two tears alone,” Shah said. “This is a unique opportunity for us to learn together how we can be supportive of your efforts as defense ministers, often called in when times are toughest and expected to perform under conditions of little information and extreme crisis.”
The ASEAN contingent then toured the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage, the most decorated ship of its kind on the west coast that can launch versatile airframes like the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey to disaster areas where others can't breach. After the tour Secretary Hagel spoke about the importance of the ASEAN collaboration and cooperation.
“The focus was on our efforts to bring our capabilities together as countries who share our futures, our interests, and our histories, in the Asia-Pacific region,” Secretary Hagel said. “We started the day focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief but we can do more, we will do more, we are doing more. I think there is ample evidence on how we can collaborate and cooperate.”
Secretary Hagel provided examples of ASEAN collaboration including the response to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. He also pointed to the collective response by the ASEAN countries to last Falls destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
“In both cases, nations in the region were able to set aside rivalries and differences and instead work together,” Secretary Hagel said. “At the same time, both cases underscore the reality that nations must engage in more practical security cooperation ahead of time in order to work together more effectively when challenges arise.”
Secretary Hagel emphasized that the forum underscores the need for Asia Pacific nations to work together in providing regional security as well as bringing aid and relief to countries affected by natural disasters.
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2014 02:32 |
| Story ID: | 123877 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 265 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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