Singapore Partners Philippines and US to Co-Organise Multinational Exercise to Strengthen Cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

Exercise Coordinated Response (Ex COORES) 2017 was conducted from 23 to 25 January 2017 at the Changi Command and Control Centre (CC2C) in Singapore, and is co-organised by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the United States (US) Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Centre (RHCC).  Ex COORES aims to establish military linkages, enhance mutual understanding and interoperability, and strengthen military cooperation in HADR operations. The exercise saw about 150 participants from 18 militaries from across the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, and observers from 12 international organisations, governmental agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This is the inaugural Ex COORES and also the first multinational HADR exercise hosted by the Changi RHCC since it was launched in September 2014.

The exercise scenario simulated the Philippines afflicted by two fictitious major natural disasters one after another – first a volcanic eruption at Mount Mayon, followed by a Category 5 typhoon at the city of Legazpi. The AFP then established a Multinational Coordination Centre (MNCC) to coordinate incoming foreign assistance, supported by the Changi RHCC. The challenging and realistic scenario provided valuable opportunities to test and exercise the working processes in the coordination of a multinational military HADR effort, from the perspective of both the affected state and the assisting militaries. Participants were also able to familiarise with both the AFP MNCC and the Changi RHCC's concept of operations, in anticipation of cooperation in future HADR operations.  The US CFE-DM contributed to Ex COORES 2017 by providing its expertise in the development of the exercise scenario and in exercise control, as well as facilitating large-group discussions on the best practices in conducting HADR operations. During the exercise, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) also played its part in enhancing civil-military understanding, by demonstrating the operations of its Humanitarian Country Team.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana, and US Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim, Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath visited the exercise at the CC2C this afternoon. Speaking at an interview after the visit, Secretary Lorenzana highlighted that Ex COORES provided useful opportunities for the participating nations to learn from one another and to coordinate better in future operations. He said, "This exercise is very important to us…we really want to learn as much as we can from this exercise to react or to prepare…if something [any possible disaster] is coming… So this will also help us to coordinate all these countries and organisations who would like to help…".  Dr Ng emphasised the importance of coordination between both military and civilian partners to respond effectively to a major disaster in our region. He added, "… [we realised] it was equally important to have a network of partners, both military and civilian who were used to working with each other so that you can respond very effectively in the first 48 to 72 hours…So I think this is a very significant event, and it shows that there is a need for this, and we've been speaking to the participants and they've been telling us how useful it is. So from Singapore's point of view, I think it's a worthwhile investment and I'm very happy with the outcome."

On the sidelines of Ex COORES, Director Changi RHCC, Colonel (COL) Lee Kuan Chung, and Director CFE-DM, Mr Joseph D. Martin, also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24 January 2017 to establish a framework for cooperation between the US CFE-DM and the Changi RHCC. This MoU demonstrates Singapore's and the US' shared intent to foster a strategic partnership and build regional capacity in HADR as affirmed in our enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.

More Resources

Fact Sheet: Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre (RHCC)