Singapore's defense minister Sunday stressed the importance of international cooperation in disaster relief.
Speaking at an Asian security summit, Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean noted multilateral cooperation is needed when facing multi- faceted and multi-dimensional security challenges, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
"No country, no matter how big, is able to muster all the resources and specialized capabilities necessary to attend to all the needs of the victims," he said.
The annual security conference, now in its seventh year, saw defense ministers, military officials and security experts from 27 countries including the United States, China and Myanmar.
The devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the earthquake in Sichuan province of China last month "serve as a sobering reminder" of the importance of international cooperation in relief efforts in the aftermath of large-scale natural disasters, he said.
International aid organizations and rescue services from other countries can bring much needed assistance, he said, adding that armed forces too have a crucial role to play in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The key in such operations is bringing relief speedily and effectively to the victims, which is "a responsibility to provide" of all national governments, he pointed out.
He repeated three principles the defense ministers reached on Saturday to guide multilateral cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The first principle stressed the responsibility of disaster-hit countries to respond to disasters occurring within its territory in a prompt and effective manner.
Where needed, they should facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid from other countries and international organizations.
Any external help shall have the consent of the affected countries, and it should come under their overall control and supervision, said the third.
However the guidelines reached on the security conference lack the force of a formal agreement. The conference, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, aims to shape common perceptions and norms of behavior among the Asia-Pacific countries.
Teo told reporters on Saturday that earthquake-hit China is a " very good, positive example," as resources were mobilized quickly and Beijing sought the international community's help when needed.
Referring to Myanmar, Teo Saturday said, "I think most of us would agree that we would have preferred to see a different outcome, where the aid flow available from the international community might have been put to more prompt and effective use."
The defense minister's call for international cooperation in disaster relief echoed Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said international cooperation is key to tackling non- traditional security threats such as food shortages and natural disasters when he made keynote speech at the opening of the conference on Friday.
Singapore, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), got allowance of Myanmar last week to let the regional bloc play leading role in coordinating foreign aids to Myanmar.
The conference, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, concluded Sunday.
(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2008)