Disaster Diplomacy

Maritime non-traditional security issues present opportunities for Taiwan

Lai Hui-chen

Taiwan and China have a longstanding sovereignty dispute under the one China principle asserted by People’s Republic of China (PRC), which limits Taiwan’s international space in several ways. Undeniably, China is a highly modernized military power that has enjoyed an economic boom in the past few decades, and it has risen up as an influential power in the international community. Therefore, China has fought a very aggressive diplomatic and economic war against Taiwan developing diplomatic and international links across a wide range of areas that have challenged the national security and interests of the Republic of China (ROC).

Hospital ship USNS Mercy departs San Diego to participate in Pacific Partnership 2018, to work partner nations to enhance HADR interoperability.

photo: Justin Schoenberger

The end of Cold war had led to brand new security issues where the concept of national security is no longer confined to political as well as military-related subjects. New types of security threats have emerged as major concerns for governments. These include non-traditional security issues such as cyber warfare, piracy, terrorism, and environmental security.

The number of recorded incidents of natural hazards around the world have increased tremendously in the past few decades. Due to the region’s geography and vulnerability to disasters, the Asia Pacific is most affected by natural catastrophes and people living in this region suffer the consequences of disasters at a rate that is five times higher than people outside this region, according to the “2017 Asia Pacific Disaster Report” from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). From 1970 to 2016, damage resulting from disasters in Asia and the Pacific increased to US$1.3 trillion in assets, most of which was the result of floods, storms, and earthquakes, including tsunamis, according to ESCAP.

US Airmen from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard evacuate a casualty into a Humvee during Tactical Combat Casualty Care training, May 21, 2019.

photo: Tony Harp

Deadliest natural disasters

According to data published by Munich Re, as of 2017, the tsunami of 2004 was the deadliest natural disaster to occur worldwide since 1980. An estimated 222,000 people were killed in this event. The seconddeadliest was the earthquake that affected Haiti in January 2010, in which 159,000 fatalities were reported. Moreover, the vast majority of the ten most significant natural disasters worldwide by death toll during this period occurred in the Asia-Pacific region.

Statistics also show that the highest number of natural disasters in 2016 occurred in Asia where there were 79 hydrological disasters out of 179 in 2016. The failure to recognize the power of such natural catastrophes could have dire consequences from the cases indicated above.

The unpredictable characteristics of natural disasters, coupled with the Asia Pacific’s vulnerability and geographical location, will pose a serious threat and challenge. There will be a trend in which the loss and casualties resulting from the coming catastrophes will pose challenges that each affected country cannot handle by itself. Therefore, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations have received more attention in the global community in recent years, and has become the core mission for numerous governments.

Taiwan, a disaster-prone country, sits in a place with a complex environment including not only the cross-strait military threat from the PRC, but also new types of risks from natural disasters, which may result in tremendous loss of both life and property. The authorities have learned the lessons from the significant loss in the Jiji earthquake in 1999 as well as Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

HADR operations have created an opportunity for navies to pursue the goal of mutual collaboration in the concept of benign naval diplomacy.

Being geographically vulnerable to natural disasters has forced Taiwan to realize the fact that the civilian capabilities and capacities are insufficient to meet the needs of disaster relief which in essence is complicated and requires professional skills and equipment to be deployed quickly. It has been an inevitable trend to take the armed forces into consideration for the reason of sufficient resources including well-trained personnel and varieties of equipment.

Therefore, HADR operations became one of the core missions of the ROC armed forces after Typhoon Morakot. The Navy, in particular, played a crucial role in the operation of international disaster relief. Access, maneuverability, and durability are characteristics that enable versatile maritime platforms valuable assets unique to maritime forces, especially navies. These, in turn, constitute contributing factors in defining navies’ abilities not only to show a coercive from of traditional gunboat diplomacy but also to promote constructive and positive forms of naval diplomacy, according to Alessio Patalano of the Department of War Studies, King’s College London.

Military support

Indeed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed that the case of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines involved military support from more than 20 countries, including the US Navy, Japan’s Maritime

Rescuers take part in disaster-relief exercises during Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias 2019 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, May 14, 2019.

photo: Miguel Ruiz

Self-Defense Force, and the Royal Navy, highlighting the goodwill of these nations and further representing the potential of HADR diplomacy. Consequently, HADR operations have created an opportunity for navies to pursue the goal of mutual collaboration in the concept of benign naval diplomacy beyond coercion.

There are debates over the return of gunboat diplomacy in Asia Pacific region since there are long-running territorial dispute among countries in the region, and the fact there has been a marked increase in military modernization, budgeting, and the size Map: Saravask of Asian fleets compared to the lackluster growth of Western navies. However, analyst Christian Le Mière has argued that the military build-up has not been accompanied by an increase in the frequency of conflict.

Map: Saravask

Underlying mistrust

In fact, despite the underlying mistrust, interstate relations in East Asia have remained relatively peaceful for the past three decades, which suggests that many countries have prioritized stable relations in an attempt to avoid conflict while using gunboat policy to serve as an approach to signal displeasure without actually committing to open conflict.

Efforts have been made by the global community to avoid wars, having learned the lessons of history. One significant development in the 20th century regarding an attempt to resolve disputes by peaceful means is the use of force under the UN Charter: In this regard, bilateral or multilateral cooperation between state actors became a common strategy in terms of international issues. The guiding principles of the conduct for international disaster relief operations were mainly based on UN resolution 46/182 in 1991, followed by the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief in 1994. The resolution also resulted in the creation of OCHA, which plays a crucial role in coordinating and mobilizing urgent humanitarian response as well as guiding policy and practice. The current disaster relief experiences learned from numerous natural catastrophes among governments and NGOs have gradually laid the foundation for current international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

Maritime warfare exercises

The important role of HADR can also be seen in several annual or biannual military exercises held by the US Navy. The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), one of the largest international maritime warfare exercises in the world, covers a broad range of naval skills including surface, undersea, air and amphibious warfare. It now also includes drills designed for non-traditional threats such as search and rescue, public affairs, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response.

Moreover, the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise is an annual series of bilateral military exercises conducted by the US Pacific Fleet with several member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). CARAT puts a strong emphasis on non-traditional threats, and HADR is one of the core operations aimed at enhancing trust between members and making it a means of promoting stability in the region, thereby benefiting all participating nations.

“aiwan has already built an excellent reputation for civilian assistance in overseas disaster relief events, which includes voluntary medical assistance teams.

Clearly, the long-term territorial dispute across the Taiwan Strait, in combination with the PRC’s growing economic might and military modernization, is undermining Taiwan’s diplomatic links with the rest of the globe. The geographical vulnerability to natural disasters in the Asia Pacific makes matters worse in Taiwan. Both traditional and nontraditional threats expose the ROC to risks to its national interests and security, and may further jeopardize the very survival of this democratic nation.

Members take part in a table top exercise during the 2017 South Asia Pacific Resilience Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

photo: Corey Ray

If trends continue to veer away from coercive and deterrent approaches, and turn more towards collaboration in international issues, there will be an opportunity for Taiwan to take advantage of this tendency toward regional cooperation. Taiwan must take advantage of the situation and develop ways in which it can proactively engage with the international community, and survive the diplomatic isolation imposed by the PRC.

Excellent reputation

As Taiwan has already built an excellent reputation for civilian assistance in overseas disaster relief events, which includes voluntary medical assistance teams and excellent work by Taiwanese charities in the private sector like the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, it is time for the ROC government to deliberate on how Taiwan can use humanitarian aid to achieve its goal of forging stronger links with other naval powers in Asia and beyond. In essence: how we can use naval humanitarian aid as a diplomatic tool?

According to Patalano, Japan, as a maritime country, has utilized its naval assets to defend its national security for a long time, and is currently a regional power that successfully regards HADR as a tool for naval diplomacy in Asia. The difference is the transition from a coercive use of the navy to benign utilization toward the common good in Asia Pacific after the 1970s. Although the ROC’s situation is different from that of Japan, it is worthwhile for authorities in Taiwan to look at Japan as a role model and to reexamine their national security strategy in order to better pursue the national interests of Taiwan, especially since both Taiwan and Japan are maritime nations that face threats from a rising China and which are heavily reliant on the sea lines of communication remaining freely navigable.

Growing concerns in the transition of security concepts poses challenges for Asian countries like Taiwan. Nonetheless, there are also opportunities for the ROC to take advantage of this global transition by utilizing its naval assets in collaboration with other navy powers in international HADR operations to further strengthen bonds and trust. In so doing, Taiwan can adapt to the new security condition, enhance its international profile, and hopefully break out of its diplomatic dilemma.

There are a few steps that Taipei could consider in order to move Taiwan toward humanitarian diplomacy. First, it will be necessary to reexamine the ROC’s naval capabilities. Personnel training and proficiency and navy assets should be taken into consideration, which will further influence the plan of personnel training programs and military acquisitions. Second, it is crucial to earn trust from the PRC in order to further build relations with other navy powers. HADR-related military cooperation should be added to current non-military HADR cooperation programs. Finally, military-civilian communication and experience-sharing are also beneficial for Taiwan to strengthen its disaster-relief capabilities, both domestically and internationally.

In sum, with security concerns rising due to the uncertainty of the occurrence of natural disasters, it is time for Asian countries to work together to deal with the challenges facing every country. Taiwan, should not sit idle. Rather, it must commit itself to displaying goodwill, assuming more regional responsibilities for HADR, and carving out a role for itself as a trusted security provider in the region.

Lieutenant Commander Lai Hui-chen is an ROC Naval officer who is currently posted to the National Defense University as a personnel officer and an adjunct military English teacher. He can be reached for comment at laihuichen@gmail.com