Reply to Media Queries on Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Centre (RHCC)

In response to media queries on the role and function of the Changi RHCC, the following reply was issued:

"The Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Centre (RHCC) seeks to assist a disaster-affected state with the coordination of any multi-national military relief efforts. The RHCC achieves this by providing the militaries assisting in the relief efforts with a comprehensive situational picture, via the SAF's OPERA Command and Control Information System (CCIS), that highlights key information such as needs on the ground, as well as the location of ongoing relief efforts.
 
In response to the recent Nepal Earthquake in April 2015, a team from the Changi RHCC was deployed to Kathmandu to help the Nepal Army coordinate the multi-national military response. The team operated as part of the Nepal Army's multinational military coordination centre, using the OPERA CCIS to update assisting militaries and civilian relief agencies on the status of the relief efforts. By developing a common operating picture amongst the different military teams, these efforts helped with decision-making in terms of where to allocate resources and avoid duplication of work. The RHCC also helped the Nepal Army to disseminate their requests for specific relief supplies, and this played a part in preventing Kathmandu airport and relief distribution channels from being clogged up with unnecessary aid.
 
The RHCC networks with partner militaries - either through international liaison officers attached to the RHCC or its links with partner militaries' operations centres - in facilitating the sharing of key information. Despite the RHCC being launched only nine months ago, close to ten countries have already accredited liaison officers to the RHCC. This includes Southeast Asian nations like Brunei, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as others like China, France and New Zealand. We expect more countries to do so in the coming months. RHCC, as its name suggests, is a regional platform and is open to like-minded partners, both within and outside ASEAN.
 
Beyond responses to specific disasters, the RHCC also provides weekly updates as well as specific anticipatory reports on possible disasters to our partner militaries as well as other civilian relief agencies like the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), and the United States Centre for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DMHA). The RHCC works closely with these relief agencies, both in terms of relief efforts on the ground during disasters as well as in capacity-building efforts to help ensure that the region is better prepared to respond to future disasters. On the latter front, MINDEF and UN OCHA, with the help of RHCC, recently co-hosted a World Humanitarian Summit Global Forum on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination in April 2015. MINDEF and CFE-DMHA also co-hosted a Regional Conference on Building Civil-Military Capacity for Disaster Relief Operations in September 2014.  
 
As a responsible member of the international community and a good neighbour, Singapore provides assistance to our friends in need where we are able to do so. These contributions also help to enhance regional security and stability. In particular, the Changi RHCC allows us to contribute in an area where we have an expertise in, and is within our means."
 
COL Lim Kwang Tang
Director Changi RHCC