asia Archives - Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

National Biodefense Strategies in Southeast Asian States

By APCSS Editor|2023-03-27T10:54:17-10:00March 27th, 2023|

By Deon Canyon[1] and Benjamin Ryan[2] Introduction Emergent infectious diseases are a constant threat to global health security. Southeast Asian (SEA) countries have been particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their geographic location, population density, rapid urbanization, increased development in wildlife areas, and overwhelmed resources. In recent years, the Indo-Pacific region has experienced outbreaks of COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1 influenza, avian influenza, and the Zika virus.[3],[4] These outbreaks have highlighted the need for SEA states to have agile national biodefense and biosurveillance systems and strategies. Arguably, the SEA region is now the frontline for fighting emerging [...]

Response to COVID-19 in South Asia

By APCSS Editor|2020-04-06T09:10:58-10:00April 1st, 2020|

By: Binoj Basnyat (ASC 11-2) The world has become more unpredictable with the COVID-19 pandemic and the losses it is causing. Nation states focus on their measures and regional intergovernmental organizations look for collective efforts while the World Health Organization vigorously works to provide answers. Whether interagency, political level of governance, bilateral, multilateral or global; rapid action and cooperation and coordination are the key to tackle and control COVID-19. Indian PM Modi asked the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to face the pandemic challenge. The SAARC leaders’ virtual interaction provided information on measures and internal preparedness as well as [...]

One Word from Nepal

By APCSS Editor|2020-03-31T15:53:55-10:00March 31st, 2020|

BG (R) Suresh Sharma (EC 06-3) At this moment all citizen of world are in panic, as continue to great chaos arise in the hard hit places of earth due to the Covid- 19. It is an unprecedented natural disaster. Nepal lies between two biggest populations of the world is also definitely in a fear that it may not spare us at one time later. Nepal is thankful that it is controlled in Wuhan but much concerned for the unchecked outbreak in new countries, new cases in India and more crises in Italy, Spain US and others. The nights and days [...]

Philippines

By APCSS Editor|2020-03-31T15:35:54-10:00March 31st, 2020|

Richard Siga-an (EC05-2) The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the resilience of the Philippines and her resolve to cope. A common action is quarantine or community locked-down to prevent people from roaming around and spreading the virus. While lock-down is seen as closing the borders, it actually could be viewed as a unifying factor among political entities in inter-state or intra-state relationships. The armed services were tapped to either lead or support the implementation of lock-down. There is an Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), headed by the President and the Secretary of Health and the armed services are part of it. At the moment, the Philippines immediate problem in the community lock-down is logistics and the President has delegated the power to source logistical requirements to local government units. The IATF is encouraging self-quarantine for those persons under investigation and monitoring of the possible [...]

East Asia Implications

By APCSS Editor|2020-04-06T09:14:29-10:00March 27th, 2020|

By: Lt.Gen.(ret) Jun Nagashima (TSC 15-1) As the world is united and fighting against this coronavirus, I would like to provide my insights on East Asia from a long-term security perspective. Here, I would like to elaborate on three points. One is that some of the weaknesses of biological weapons have been resolved, assuming that the virus will be more utilized as a weapon in the future. I think this incident might increase the accessibility, ease of use, and transportability of biological weapons, which raises our anxiety in the case where these could be used by extreme terrorists. The second is [...]

Cooperation and Collaboration Amidst the Crisis – Nepal

By APCSS Editor|2020-04-06T09:31:07-10:00March 22nd, 2020|

By: HK Shrestha The Covid-19 pandemic has defied national boundaries and has vindicated our shared vulnerability to this new phenomenon. It has underscored the imperative need to redouble concerted efforts at every level - national, regional, and international level to defeat the disease. In my mind, multilateralism is key for unleashing synergetic actions to overcome the current crisis. The pandemic has amply brought home the necessity to revisit the narrative of regional and international security. Equally critical is the imminent fallout in the aftermath of the pandemic, which the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has rightly termed as After Corona [...]