ASEAN and food security: A critical path for regional integration

Abstract

In November 2013, typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines causing huge damage, a large amount of displaced people and casualties. It was reported that more than 5,000 people died, more than 20,000 were injured, and almost 2,000 were missing. In addition, more than a million houses were damaged due to the heavy storm and floods, and the affected population was over 2 million. The area was under emergency for several weeks. During the emergency, food, water, and other supplies were provided by severalcountries and international organisations. It was reported that six ASEAN member countries had supplied food, water, medicine and financial aid to the Philippines. These had been conducted bilaterally. Particularly relevant for the focus of this chapter, it was reported that the support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) came in the form of supplies delivered by two bodies of ASEAN, namely the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre). APTERR is a regional cooperation scheme established in order to ensure foodsecurity in the region as well as to meet emergency requirements and achieve humanitarian purposes without distorting the normal international trade of rice. APTERR itself, with its earmarked reserve, does have a limited stockpile of food, and the government of the member country has to decide whether to release the supply through this scheme or not. In the case of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the government of Japan, which is a member of APTERR, had decided to provide rice through the APTERR framework. Concurrently, the AHA Centre also works to provide humanitarian aid including food, water and other supplies. AHA fulfils these aims by coordination among ASEAN member states and with the United Nations and other international organisations for disaster management and emergency response. As mandated by the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response, the AHA Centre is designed to be a regional hub for disaster risk monitoring and analysis, and a coordination engine to ensure ASEAN’s fast and collective response to disaster within the region. With that mandate, AHA Centre has a stockpile which is ready to be delivered alongside efforts at a local procurement.