China promotes the establishment of a Centre for Emergency Management Cooperation with ASEAN

At the 3^rd ASEAN + China Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM Plus China), Mr. Hao Junhui, Deputy Minister of Emergency Management of China, said that the two sides need to take measures to strengthen and promote the establishment of the ASEAN-China Centre for Emergency Management Cooperation (ACCEMC).

According to Mr. Hao, this is important content that has been included in the ASEAN-China Work Plan on Disaster Management and has received special attention from President Xi Jinping.

"We need to have comprehensive solutions to solve common problems in the region. Before and during natural disasters, the two sides should propose cooperation plans to jointly handle the common problems and help people," Mr. Hao said.

In this meeting, many issues related to natural disasters and climate change were mentioned. President Xi Jinping also agreed with the proposal to include the content of strengthening cooperation in natural disaster prevention, reduction, and relief and building resilience capacity in the discussion contents at AMMDM Plus China sessions.

This year, during the 26^th ASEAN-China Summit, Mr. Xi continued to make an extremely positive assessment of the relationship between the two sides and, at the same time, endorsed the acceleration of the ACCEMC construction progress.

Located in Nanning city, Guangxi province, ACCEMC will coordinate with and complement the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) to provide early warnings and actions before disasters happen. The Chinese side affirmed that it will provide full equipment and material facilities for the center to come into operation soon.

Thanking the opinions of the Chinese side, Chairman of AMMDM, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, shared that due to the global impact of COVID-19, this is the first time delegates of the AMMDM Plus China meeting have met in person since this mechanism was activated in 2021. "I hope that this special event will create motivation and help us have effective discussions," he said.

In addition to the content of promoting the establishment of ACCEMC, the Minister said that the two sides will review the draft Memorandum of Understanding to Establish ACCEMC; orient ASEAN-China cooperation activities in natural disaster management; and review and determine the next contents of the ASEAN-China Disaster Management Capacity Building Programme.

The commander of Vietnam's agriculture sector recalled that at the ASEAN-China Summit taking place in September 2023 in Indonesia, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang gave prominence to the importance of the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and affirmed that this is achieved through the efforts of both sides, mutual support, mutually beneficial cooperation, and the promotion of sustainable development. "Our today’s efforts here are no exception to the above goal," he emphasized.

After chairing the AMMDM Plus China session, Minister Le Minh Hoan continued the 3^rd ASEAN+Japan Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM Plus Japan). He congratulated the ASEAN-Japan cooperative relationship on marking a new development milestone on the occasion of celebrating 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations and reaching the Joint Statement on the Establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Thanks to the attention of senior leaders, the two sides agreed to maintain and promote cooperation in many fields, in which natural disaster management is one of the accelerated tasks.

In the presence of Mr. Horii Manabu, Parliamentary Vice-Minister in charge of natural disaster management in Japan, Minister Hoan announced that the two sides organized the Public Private Seminar on Disaster Management on the afternoon of October 11. Many initiatives have been recognized and are being considered for implementation in practice.

"We will jointly comment on the progress of the ASEAN-Japan Work Plan on Disaster Management for the period 2021–2025, which is considered a lodestar for ASEAN-Japan cooperation activities on natural disaster risk reduction," said Minister Le Minh Hoan.

Welcoming Mr. Yi Han-Kyung, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Safety (South Korea), at the 2^nd AMMDM Plus Korea event, Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed that South Korea is ASEAN’s strategic partner in many fields. Regarding natural disaster management, Korea has actively contributed to the development and implementation of programs and projects, as well as sharing experiences and knowledge through training activities, seminars, conferences, and personnel exchange.

"This meeting will create a strong signal of the joint commitment and action of ASEAN and South Korea in responding to natural disasters, thereby contributing to protecting people's lives and property and contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the world", assessed Minister Hoan.

Acknowledging that the impact of climate change and natural disasters is increasingly severe, Mr. Yi Han-Kyung said that the requirement for a natural disaster response system is now not just the task of one country alone but must be coordination and sharing between countries in the region and the world.

“South Korea is committed to sharing experiences and knowledge in responding to natural disasters with ASEAN; implementing new capacity-building projects to protect people’s lives and property; and contributing to building ASEAN into a region pioneering in disaster response,” said Mr. Yi Han-Kyung.