Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Singapore's Assistance to Neighbouring Countries on recent Natural Disasters, 14 February 2022

QUESTION

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs: (a) what plans are taken to render humanitarian or financial aid to our neighbouring countries which have been affected by the recent floods or natural disasters; and (b) what are the international efforts in developing technology or other measures to prevent or mitigate the environmental or economical effects of such disasters in the future.

REPLY

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Two of our close neighbouring countries recently suffered from natural disasters. Heavy downpours pounded Malaysia in December 2021 and early-January 2022, leading to flooding in parts of Kuala Lumpur and nine other states. Malaysian media reported that at least 54 people had been killed, and over 70,000 victims evacuated to relief centres. The floods have since receded, and disaster relief is ongoing.

Typhoon Rai made landfall in the southern and central regions of the Philippine archipelago on 16 December 2021. The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported 409 deaths and over 1,350 injured, while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that around 1.2 million people in the Philippines were affected by Typhoon Rai, with an estimated 488,000 people displaced. Military aircraft and naval vessels were deployed for disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched an emergency appeal for 20 million Swiss francs (US$21.7 million) to fund relief and recovery efforts.

The floods in Malaysia and Typhoon Rai in the Philippines resulted in the loss of many lives and widespread destruction of property, causing hardship and suffering to the affected communities. As a fellow ASEAN member state, Singapore stands by Malaysia and the Philippines during this difficult time. I wrote to my counterparts – Dato’ Sri Saifuddin Abdullah and Secretary Teodoro L Locsin Jr. – to express condolences and to offer any assistance they may require. The Singapore Government also contributed US$60,000 on 22 December 2021 as seed money to support the Singapore Red Cross’ (SRC) public fundraising to aid disaster relief and recovery efforts in Malaysia and the Philippines. The funds raised by the SRC will focus on emergency healthcare, first aid assistance, as well as distribution of relief supplies such as hygiene kits and shelter tool kits to evacuation centres. The contribution by the Singapore Government supplemented the SRC’s pledges of US$50,000 each to the Malaysian Red Crescent and the Philippine Red Cross.

Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to natural disasters. Regional and international cooperation is important to prevent or mitigate the impact of natural disasters. For example, ASEAN Member States developed the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) to enhance our region’s collective response to natural disasters. In 2021, ASEAN launched the AADMER Work Programme 2021-2025, which aims to enhance and support disaster risk reduction and management capabilities, including through inter-sectoral cooperation, capacity building, resource mobilisation, and stronger coordination among ASEAN Member States. UN agencies like the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) also work with governments and communities on disaster risk reduction and prevention, which is important to help countries build a more resilient future.

Singapore will support such regional and international efforts where we can. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has put its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief team on standby for deployment, should there be requests for support from our ASEAN counterparts. SCDF also works closely with the United Nations OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) to monitor the disaster situation in the region. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, we conduct courses on disaster management and disaster risk reduction through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and with international partners such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the UNDRR. For example, Singapore has partnered the UNDRR on an annual course on disaster risk reduction since 2015. We have conducted seven runs of the course for 252 participants from 82 countries and international organisations to date. Singapore will continue to work with regional and international partners to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from disasters in the future.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

14 FEBRUARY 2022