Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief (HADR)
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Global Commons
Pacific Partnership 2023 fortifies relationships, strengthens disaster preparedness
FORUM Staff The Indo-Pacific’s largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) preparedness mission began in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific islands in early August 2023. Now in its 18th year, the United States-led Pacific Partnership aims to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific.…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Chinese citizens outraged at CCP’s diversion of floodwaters, lack of assistance
FORUM Staff Typhoon Doksuri caused record flooding in northern China in July and early August 2023, pushing reservoirs beyond their capacity, killing at least 60 people and displacing more than 1.5 million, according to news reports. The devastating flooding washed away cars, bridges, homes and livelihoods. Many residents contend that provincial Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities worsened the damage by…
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Global Commons
Pégase 23 bolsters French Indo-Pacific presence
FORUM Staff The distress call came at dusk on July 10, 2023. A recreational fishing boat with 11 people aboard was adrift in heavy seas west of Rota, an island about 74 kilometers north-northeast of Guam. A French Air and Space Force crew was concluding a Mobility Guardian 23 training exercise with American and British colleagues. The Guam-based drills supported…
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Global Commons
‘Working together is success,’ Indonesia, U.S. co-host annual Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium
FORUM Staff Indonesian Marines dropped from a C-130 Hercules aircraft, parachutes unfurling against blue sky as they plunged toward waters off the island of Bali and the rubber boats released moments earlier. The Marines splashed down, boarded the small vessels and sped to shore. The July 2023 demonstration of amphibious capabilities underscored a main tenet of the Pacific Amphibious Leaders…
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Global Commons
Experts: Momentum building to condemn weaponization of hunger
FORUM Staff More than two years after a military coup sparked a bloody conflict and sent Myanmar spiraling into a humanitarian crisis, 1 in 4 people in the Southeast Asian nation of 54 million struggle to feed themselves and their families. Food insecurity is particularly acute in conflict zones and projected to deteriorate in the coming months throughout the country,…
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Global Commons
Indo-Pacific nations lead U.N. peacekeeping efforts
FORUM Staff Indo-Pacific countries have become top contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions worldwide, and their accomplishments and sacrifices will be honored along with those of other nations on International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers. On May 29, the U.N. recognizes military personnel, police officers and civilians who have helped nations torn by conflict, including the thousands who died doing so.…
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Global Commons
Vanuatu cyclone relief: Australia provides personnel, supplies, hope
Tom Abke Australia reacted quickly when a pair of tropical cyclones ripped through Vanuatu in early March 2023, leaving at least 10% of the country’s residents homeless and severely damaging schools and hospitals. Hundreds of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel spent most of March on the Pacific archipelago, assessing damage, distributing supplies and rebuilding infrastructure. The Australian government contributed over…
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Features
Integrating Excellence
Aiyana Paschal/Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Since its inception in 1994, the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) has built crisis response capacity, enhanced coordination and collaboration, and strengthened relationships to improve the performance of United States and partner militaries during disasters. In addition to these core areas, CFE-DM has undertaken initiatives…
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Contemplations
Meet Japan’s Cyborg Cockroach, Crawling to a Disaster Near You
Story and Photo by Reuters If an earthquake strikes in the not-too-distant future, trapping survivors under tons of rubble, the first responders to find them could be swarms of cyborg cockroaches. That’s a potential application of a recent breakthrough by Japanese researchers who demonstrated the ability to mount “backpacks” of solar cells and electronics on the bugs to remotely control…
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Global Commons
French-led Croix du Sud exercise highlights HADR, combat care
FORUM Staff Troops conducted survival, combat, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) drills during the French Armed Forces-led Croix du Sud exercise April 24 to May 6, 2023. Participants from 19 countries gathered in the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia, a French territory, to share skills and improve coordination and intervention capacities. Sgt. Kinsley Parent, a French combat…
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