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| Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark |
By Shannon Tiezzi
China and ASEAN signed an MoU on disaster relief, opening the door for the diplomatic benefits of cooperation on HA/DR.
China and ASEAN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Disaster Management Cooperation on Monday. Under the agreement, China will provide 50 million RMB ($8.1 million) to build ASEAN’s capabilities to respond to regional disasters. The funds will support the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response Work Progmra, the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance, and the ASEAN Secretariat’s programs to build capacity for disaster management.
ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh praised the MoU as a “milestone in the developing partnership with China in the area of disaster management.” Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Yang Xiuping said that the MoU marked the first Chinese grant to ASEAN that would be disbursed by the multilateral mechanism. “Through this grant, China hopes to help countries affected by disasters. By coming together, we can do more for the benefit of the people,” Yang said.
Cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief is one of the easiest ways to build trust and goodwill between two parties. By its anodyne nature, HA/DR is unlikely to offend even the most hawkish, but it provides ample ground for diplomatic and even military cooperation. As such, many analysts have argued that increased HA/DR cooperation between China and the U.S. can help build mutual trust; it can also be a boon for China-ASEAN cooperation. By providing greater assistance in disaster relief, China can help combat its negative image in some ASEAN member states (notably Vietnam and the Philippines) as an aggressive, revanchist power.
Read the full story at The Diplomat