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| USNS Mercy (Wiki Info - Image: US Navy) |
By Zachary M. Hosford
U.S. humanitarian and disaster response capabilities are unmatched. It should work to keep them that way.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently visited Tacloban in the Philippines to witness the recovery efforts following Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people and flattened an incomprehensibly large swath of land. With Operation Damayan, the U.S. military has once again demonstrated its unparalleled ability to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) missions, and its performance contrasted sharply with China’s failure to respond effectively to the devastation.
Without viewing their responses simply as an HA/DR competition between the two countries, relief efforts have a very real and consequential effect beyond the importance of saving lives, and the U.S. cannot take for granted that it will maintain its current edge – and its accompanying influence – indefinitely.
To increase its response time, effectiveness and influence, the United States should work with the Philippines to forward-deploy a hospital ship to the region to augment other U.S. rebalancing initiatives. Such a deployment would naturally complement efforts to establish a rotational troop presence and enhance maritime domain awareness and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
China undoubtedly fumbled its relief effort in the Philippines. By initially pledging a miniscule $100,000 in aid – raising its contribution only after being publicly lambasted – Beijing demonstrated that its ongoing maritime disputes with Manila trumped its renewed effort to improve relations with its neighbors. This did not go unnoticed in the Philippines or in the region.
Read the full 2 page story at The Diplomat