Posted on: Sunday, January 16, 2005
ISLAND VOICES
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By Mark J. Valencia
In an ideal world, rich nations would help the less fortunate in times of natural disasters because it is "the right thing to do." But in today's real-politik world, it has become painfully and publicly obvious that such assistance to the tsunami victims is not motivated purely by righteousness and generosity.
Indeed, it seems that many nations have ulterior motives or stand to gain political benefits in their giving. For example, the United States has realized somewhat belatedly that many of the victims of the natural disaster are Muslim, and that its robust and visible assistance may go a long way toward winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim street while ameliorating its overly muscular and unilateral foreign image.
In Secretary of State Colin Powell's own words, the American relief effort will give "the Muslim world and the rest of the world an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action.
Vincent Thian • Associated Press And for the U.S. military, the situation offers the opportunity to demonstrate to friends and potential foes alike the awesome U.S. capacity to mobilize and deploy large amounts of troops and equipment on short notice to remote parts of the globe.
The enhanced U.S. "soft power" that has been badly eroded in recent years would be particularly useful in Indonesia, with which relations have deteriorated because of the Iraq war and alleged human-rights violations by the Indonesian military.
As a result of the emergency, the United States has temporarily lifted its ban on military aid to Indonesia imposed by Congress because of those alleged violations. As a start, the United States will supply spare parts for Indonesia's C-130s even though they are alleged to have been used against Aceh rebels.
Irwin Fedriansyah • Associated Press And in its most expansive foreign military operation since World War II — except Iraq — Japan has sent two destroyers and a supply ship and has committed more than 1,000 troops to the region.
Moreover, the director-general of Japan's Defense Agency, Yoshinori Ohno, traveled to the region to discuss Japan's emergency aid for tsunami victims.
China is also using this situation to make its debut on the world stage of caring-capable nations. Indeed, China is particularly interested in using this opportunity to enhance its influence and deepen its ties with ASEAN and other Asian nations.
At the special ASEAN meeting on the "Aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami," Premier Wen Jiabao made several proposals, including China-ASEAN Workshops on Tsunami Warning, a China-ASEAN Fund for Public Health, and an Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction, all apparently excluding the United States.
Bullit Marquez • Associated Press Indeed, in its initial response to the disaster, the United States tried to again bypass the United Nations by cobbling together an ad hoc core group of "capable" nations to respond to the disaster. But that group has now been dissolved, and responsibility for coordinating a response to what U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called "the largest natural disaster the U.N. has faced" has been turned over to the United Nations.
The United Nations now has the opportunity to demonstrate it can do the job. To fail would be to imperil its credibility, and perhaps even its very existence.
Of course, some of the above may be dismissed as the carping of Voltaire-like cynics. And there does not appear to be any ready alternative other than to rely on the response of capable nations, whatever their ulterior motives.
But that does not disprove that they exist. In the realpolitik world of today, recipient countries should accept the assistance with eyes wide open. Thus it is not surprising that Indonesia has asked all foreign troops to leave the affected area by the end of March.
However, there may also be a political upside to this catastrophe, if one can speak of such, amid all the suffering. Countries that do not normally work together or even have positive relations can repair or build trust and confidence by coming together in this common effort against a common foe — nature and its aftermath. This includes the United States and its European naysayers in the Iraq war, as well as "problematic" nations for the United States like Russia and China.
Nature did not discriminate in its destruction. And the enormity of the disaster and the commonality of suffering could build a feeling of solidarity and trust between Aceh and Tamil separatists and their respective governments and dominant ethnic groups.
Let us hope the leadership on both sides of these serious conflicts — as well as the aid givers — will seize the opportunity to make compromises that would otherwise be politically impossible and establish firmer ground for negotiations.
And maybe — just maybe — this experience will have a lasting spillover effect in addressing other humanitarian tragedies of our time that have been relatively neglected — for example, in the eastern Congo, where 3.8 million have died, or Darfur, Sudan, where millions have been displaced — as well as those sure to come.
Indeed, the reduction of the role of self-centered realpolitik in disaster relief could be the legacy the tsunami victims leave to the world.
Mark J. Valencia is a Honolulu-based researcher and writer. He wrote this article for The Advertiser.
"We are supporting (humanitarian relief) because we believe it is in the best interests of those countries and it's in our own best interest, and it dries up those pools of dissatisfaction which might give rise to terrorist activities."
Workers unload relief supplies from a U.S. helicopter in Ampara, Sri Lanka. Americans flew 30 tons of relief material, including fresh food, to areas of the island unreachable by land.
Analysts also believe that Japan sees an opportunity in this disaster to enhance its image as a "real" country worthy of a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. It has promised one of the largest monetary aid packages.
Volunteers take inventory of aid donated by USAID in Jakarta, Indonesia. Foreign aid workers could be expelled if they fail to declare plans to travel outside the capital of Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh, the government said Wednesday, as the United Nations appealed to donors to follow through with promises of aid.
Perhaps the entity with the most to gain or lose in this situation is the United Nations. The Bush administration has criticized the United Nations as bloated, inefficient and ineffective, and has bypassed it when it felt it could not get the support it needed.
An Australian helicopter hovers above a destroyed house as it prepares to drop off heavy equipment at Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
