DEFSEC Draft Article:

"Resilience and Response: the Diplomatic Dimension"

The Asia-Pacific Region, and the entirety of the planet for that matter, need to brace themselves for
both natural man-made disasters of increasing frequency and magnitude. This has direct
implications for New Zealand’s Defence and Diplomatic establishments in the context of resilience
and response. I have had the privilege of working on these agendas with New Zealand officials both
in the Philippines and here in Wellington.

Supertyphoon Haiyan which hit the Philippines in 2013 is indicative of a “new normal.” Violent
typhoons have hit and continue to plague the Western Pacific, and will be of particular concern to
Wellington given its “Pacific Reset.” New Zealand had provided much-appreciated Humanitarian
Assistance & Disaster Response (HADR) to post-Haiyan operations and other natural disasters in the
region. The Christchurch Mosque Shootings of 2019 are a tragic manifestation of man-made
calamity. The compassionate and purposeful response of the New Zealand government, as well as
the citizenry of the country as a whole has raised the global bar for dealing with the aftermath of
terrorist acts.

In turn, New Zealand has received support from the world community in its time of need. The
Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes of 2011 and 2016, respectively, saw the arrival of numerous
assisting overseas HADR teams. The 2019 Mosque Shootings united the world in sympathy and
goodwill towards New Zealand.

In the case of Haiyan, I was the Philippine Foreign Ministry’s officer-in-charge for coordinating
international assistance. In that capacity I worked closely with the then-NZ Ambassador to the
Philippines, H.E. Ruben Levermore. I had the privilege of assisting the Ambassador in coordinating
the landing of the RNZAF C-130 transport plane which conveyed NZ’s HADR material and personnel
contributions. This assistance entailed obtaining flight clearances for the landing of the plane, and
approval for the entry of personnel and humanitarian goods. Such assistance entailed working vis-à-
vis our airport, customs and military authorities.

This has direct implications for New Zealand in the context of what its Defence and Diplomatic
establishments need to do to prepare for such mega-disasters, and given its commitments in terms
of its active membership in the United Nations (UN), the Five-Power Defence Arrangement, and its
Pacific regional commitments.

NZ had contributed considerable support to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR)
operations for the Philippines in the wake of Haiyan, including despatch of a RNZAF C-130 and NZ
Defence Force disaster management teams. Kiwi airmen, soldiers and sailors had joined over a
dozen nations including treaty allies in providing military HADR. Indeed, HADR for Haiyan is I had
the honour of meeting with a RNZN Officer serving with the HMS Illustrious, which was leading
British HADR efforts for Haiyan.