ASEAN has food stockpile to help member countries in times of emergency
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 06 May 2008 1356 hrs

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SINGAPORE: ASEAN has a food stockpile meant for emergency relief distribution in the region.

And the grouping is ready to help Myanmar's cyclone victims, said ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

He was speaking to reporters after the launch of the new Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Cyclone Nargis left devastation in its wake when it hit Myanmar on Saturday.

At least 22,500 have been killed and the death toll is expected to rise further.

As international relief groups offer assistance, ASEAN too is offering a helping hand to its fellow member.

Dr Surin said: "There is a stockpile ready to be delivered in times of emergency, among ASEAN and ASEAN+3....Now, what emergency, in what form, the details, the rules and regulations to administer that, need to be worked out. The intention is there, the stock is available but again the management of it, I think they are getting into serious discussion now."

Dr Surin said the natural disaster in Myanmar reinforces the message that it is vital for ASEAN to beef up its food stockpile for emergencies.

He said: "The experiences and lessons learned from the tsunami of 2004 certainly have given us a wake-up call and triggered a sense of urgency among us all to get going. We cannot be complacent any longer about these kinds of disasters that could come any time."

Dr Surin said UN humanitarian agency teams are now planning to go into Myanmar to assess the needs of the victims.

He added that the ASEAN Secretariat is also ready to coordinate assistance and to mobilise resources to help the Myanmar people.

Acknowledging the importance of such an ASEAN emergency food stockpile, a security analyst from the University of Sydney, Professor Alan Dupont, suggests it could also have another role - to help control prices.

Prof Dupont said: "Those stockpiles are there for emergencies of the kind that we're facing now. The problem is that a lot of stockpiles has been run down, so there's not as much rice there as we'd like. That's why prices have gone up. If ASEAN can release some of the stock, that would help stabilise prices." - CNA/ac/ir