![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
International military cooperation in disaster relief has become a useful illustration of Asia-Pacific regional order building in action. This is because contemporary Asia-Pacific order-building involves constant renegotiation of the existing regional hierarchy, so that states engaging in disaster relief are also competing for international standing. We should expect that disaster cooperation establishes standing because it lets these states at once demonstrate material power, establish practical international ties, and build legitimacy. These are each key building-blocks of international order. A case study of the contributions of Japan and China in response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 shows disaster responses mirroring patterns of status-seeking that have been highlighted in recent IR literature. Japan’s disaster contribution may have clarified and strengthened its role as a security partner in South-East Asia, while China has since worked to raise its profile as a provider of international humanitarian assistance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Richard Salmons recently completed a PhD in International Relations at the Australian National University. He researched the way international status perceptions drive decision-making in the Asia-Pacific region, through case studies of China’s accession to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, India’s 1998 nuclear tests, and Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Richard previously worked in the Australian Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Notes
1 Figures drawn from: Republic of the Philippines, ‘Final Report Re Effects of Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan)’, (2013). Philippines minister Mar Roxas quoted in: Keith Bradsher, ‘Vast Challenges for Philippines after Typhoon’, New York Times, November 10, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/world/asia/philippines-typhoon.html?pagewanted=all.
2 See below for a definition of soft power. Boosts in attractiveness may be in seen in surveys in countries receiving such assistance, for example: Richard Wike, ‘Does Humanitarian Aid Improve America’s Image?’, Pew Research Center Global Attitudes & Trends, June 19, 2016, 2012, http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/03/06/does-humanitarian-aid-improve-americas-image/. For a discussion of attractiveness as a vehicle for ‘soft power’, see: Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004), 6.
3 David Capie, ‘The United States and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in East Asia: Connecting Coercive and Non-coercive Uses of Military Power’, Journal of Strategic Studies 38, no. 3 (2015).
4 Jeffrey Engstrom, ‘Taking Disaster Seriously: East Asian Military Involvement in International Disaster Relief Operations and the Implications for Force Projection’, Asian Security 9, no. 1 (2013).
5 Admiral Gary Roughead et al., US Navy Humanitarian Assistance in an Era of Austerity (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2013), 2.
6 This underlying idea of contested order building is drawn from the work of Evelyn Goh, see: Evelyn Goh, The Struggle for Order: Hegemony, Hierarchy, and Transition in Post-Cold War East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2013).
7 Muthiah Alagappa, ‘The Study of International Order: An Analytical Framework’, in Asian Security Order: Instrumental and Normative Features, ed. Muthiah Alagappa (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 39.
8 Ibid.
9 G. John Ikenberry, Liberal Leviathan: The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order (Princeton University Press, 2011), 36.
10 Andrew Hurrell, On Global Order: Power, Values, and the Constitution of International Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 1.
11 John G. Ikenberry, ‘Introduction’, in Power, Order and Change in World Politics, ed. John G. Ikenberry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 4.
12 Alagappa, ‘The Study of International Order’, 39.
13 G John Ikenberry, ‘The Logic of Order: Westphalia, Liberalism and the Evolution of International Order in the Modern Era’, in Power, Order and Change in World Politics, ed. G. John Ikenberry (Cambridge University Press, 2014), 85.
14 See for example: Steve Chan, Looking for Balance: China, the United States, and Power Balancing in East Asia (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012), chapter 3.
15 See for example the issues addressed in: Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter, China, the United States, and Global Order (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
16 Hurrell, On Global Order, 39.
17 Ikenberry, ‘The Logic of Order’, 83.
18 Average percentage of global disasters from 2004 to 2013. United Nations, Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok: ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), 2014).
19 Jennifer Moroney, Lessons from Department of Defense Disaster Relief Efforts in the Asia-Pacific Region (RAND Corporation, 2013), 1.
20 Engstrom, ‘Taking Disaster Seriously’, 41. Engstrom’s paper, together with Capie, ‘The United States and HADR in East Asia’, provide excellent overviews of the transformation of the role of the military in the Asia-Pacific region to address normative, social and indeed ‘soft power’ objectives such as disaster relief, which had previously been the preserve of civilian agencies.
21 Goh, The Struggle for Order, 72, 72
22 Ikenberry, ‘The Logic of Order’, 84.
23 Joseph S. Nye, ‘Soft Power’, Foreign Policy 80, no. 80 (1990); Joseph S. Nye, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 1990).
24 Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, 8.
25 Todd Hall, ‘An Unclear Attraction: A Critical Examination of Soft Power as an Analytical Category’, The Chinese Journal of International Politics 3, no. 2 (2010).
26 John Bradford, ‘Waves of Change: Evolution in the US Navy’s Strategic Approach to Disaster Relief Operations between the 2004 and 2011 Asian Tsunamis’, Asian Security 9, no. 1 (2013): 41.
27 Ibid., 23. The US Navy report, A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, may be found online, http://www.navy.mil/local/maritime/150227-CS21R-Final.pdf.
28 For example, US aid to Pakistan after the 2010 floods could not overcome popular ill-will in the country. Moroney, Lessons from Department of Defense Disaster Relief Efforts, 118–19. In addition, while the US enjoyed a high overall positive perception in the Philippines both before and after the typhoon, this should not obscure ongoing issues in the relationship, such as the role of US troops in counter-terrorism operations and training in several parts of the country.
29 Mark Landler, ‘U.S. And Philippines Agree to a 10-Year Pact on the Use of Military Bases’, New York Times, April 27, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/world/asia/us-and-the-philippines-agree-to-a-10-year-military-pact.html.
30 Joseph S. Nye, ‘Smart Power and the “War on Terror”’, Asia-Pacific Review 15, no. 1 (2008).
31 Clinton used the phrase prominently in her 2009 confirmation hearings for the role of Secretary of State. For a discussion, see for example: Eric Etheridge, ‘How “Soft Power” Got “Smart”’, New York Times, January 14, 2009, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/how-soft-power-got-smart/.
32 Capie, ‘The United States and HADR in East Asia’, 312.
33 Ibid.
34 Engstrom, ‘Taking Disaster Seriously’, 39.
35 CSIS, Partnership for Recovery and a Stronger Future (Washington, DC: Centre for Strategic and International Studies, 2011), 33.
36 A definition by Anthony Forster cited in: David Capie, ‘Structures, Shocks and Norm Change: Explaining the Late Rise of Asia’s Defence Diplomacy’, Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs 35, no. 1 (2013): 3.
37 Daniel Baldino and Andrew Carr, ‘Defence Diplomacy and the Australian Defence Force: Smokescreen or Strategy?’, Australian Journal of International Affairs 70, no. 2 (2016).
38 Evan A. Laksmana, ‘Regional Order by Other Means? Examining the Rise of Defense Diplomacy in Southeast Asia’, Asian security 8, no. 3 (2012): 253–4.
39 The Dialogue is organised not by ASEAN but by the IISS, a London-based think tank, and enjoys corporate sponsorship. David Capie and Brendan Taylor, ‘The Shangri-La Dialogue and the Institutionalization of Defence Diplomacy in Asia’, The Pacific Review 23, no. 3 (2010): 367.
40 The non-ASEAN members are China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand, Russia and the United States, making the membership of ADMM+ the same as the East Asia Summit. Capie, ‘Structures, Shocks and Norm Change’, 310–11.
41 This has largely involved civilian cooperation. See: https://www.ag.gov.au/EmergencyManagement/International-partnerships/Multilateral/EAS-Toolkit/Pages/Preliminaries.aspx.
42 Capie and Taylor, ‘The Shangri-La Dialogue and the Institutionalization of Defence Diplomacy in Asia’, 374.
43 Brendan Taylor, ‘The Rise of Asian Defense Diplomacy: Convergence or Divergence in Sino-Australian Security Relations?’, Contemporary International Relations 21, no. 3 (2011): 181.
44 BBC, ‘Typhoon Haiyan: US Carrier Boosts Philippines Relief Effort’, November 14, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24936387.
45 A comprehensive account may be found in: Thomas Lum and Rhoda Margesson, ‘Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda): US and International Response to Philippines Disaster’, Current Politics and Economics of South, Southeastern, and Central Asia 23, no. 2 (2014). This paper is an augmented version of Lum and Margesson’s Congressional Research Service publication, No. R43309, dated February 10, 2014.
46 Goh, The Struggle for Order, 216.
47 Jing Sun, Japan and China as Charm Rivals: Soft Power in Regional Diplomacy (Ann Arbor: Univesity of Michigan Press, 2012), 151.
48 A more comprehensive study could examine whether other regional actors’ contributions also played a part in regional order contestation. However, while other states such as the Republic of Korea deployed relief teams, their relatively low international profile limits their significance to this debate – however important their contribution in actual humanitarian terms.
49 Notable scholarly books on status in IR include: T.V. Paul, Deborah Welch Larson, and William C. Wohlforth, eds., Status in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014); Thomas J. Volgy et al., eds., Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics : Global and Regional Perspectives (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011); Jonathan Renshon, Fighting for Status: Hierarchy and Conflict in World Politics (Princeton University Press, 2017).
50 William C. Wohlforth, ‘Unipolarity, Status Competition, and Great Power War’, World Politics 61, no. 1 (2009): 39.
51 Thomas J. Volgy et al., ‘Major Power Status in International Politics’, in Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics: Global and Regional Perspectives, ed. Thomas J Volgy, et al. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 10.
52 Allan Dafoe, Jonathan Renshon, and Paul Huth, ‘Reputation and Status as Motives for War’, Annual Review of Political Science 17 (2014).
53 Jonathan Renshon, ‘Status Deficits and War’, International Organization 70, no. 3 (2016): 526.
54 For China 2013: Pew Research Center, ‘America’s Global Image Remains More Positive than China’s’, http://www.pewglobal.org/category/datasets/?download=31111. For Japan 2013: Pew Research Center, ‘Japanese Public’s Mood Rebounding, Abe Highly Popular’, http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/07/11/japanese-publics-mood-rebounding-abe-strongly-popular/. For 2014: ‘Global Opposition to U.S. Surveillance and Drones, but Limited Harm to America’s Image’, http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/14/global-opposition-to-u-s-surveillance-and-drones-but-limited-harm-to-americas-image/. For 2015: Pew Research Center, ‘How Asia-Pacific Publics See Each Other and Their National Leaders’, http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/09/02/how-asia-pacific-publics-see-each-other-and-their-national-leaders/.
55 Christopher Hall and Frank Smith, ‘The Struggle for Soft Power in Asia: Public Diplomacy and Regional Competition’, Asian Security 9, no. 1 (2013). Another factor is that this case study is focused on the results of short-term emergency disaster relief operations. Long-term international humanitarian efforts could generate different results.
56 Andrew Jacobs, ‘Asia Rivalries Play Role in Aid to the Philippines’, New York Times, November 14, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/world/asia/asia-rivalries-play-role-in-aid-to-the-philippines.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
59 Japan, Japan’s Official Development Assistance White Paper 2014 (Government of Japan, 2014), 16.
60 See for example a profile of Ise’s class of helicopter-carrying destroyers, http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-japan-military-alliance-japans-maritime-self-defense-forces-the-most-powerful-naval-force-in-the-asia-pacific-region/5497458. Ise and its sister ship Hyuga will be exceeded in size in the SDF only by the new Izumo-class helicopter-carrying vessels due to enter service in 2017.
61 Wenton S. Konishi and Andrew L. Oros, ‘Beyond Haiyan: Toward Greater U.S.-Japan Cooperation in HADR’, NBR Analysis Brief (National Bureau of Asian Research) (2014).
62 Alessio Patalano, ‘Beyond the Gunboats’, The RUSI Journal 160, no. 2 (2015): 35.
63 James Hardy, ‘Interview: Rear Admiral Gojiro Watanabe, Director General of Operations and Plans Department, Maritime Staff Office, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’, Jane’s Defence Weekly, April 21, 2015, https://janes.ihs.com/Janes/Display/1741274.
64 Takuya Shimodaira, ‘The JMSDF's Resilient Power for Civil Society: Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake’, Naval War College Review 68, no. 3 (2015).
65 Euan Graham, Super Typhoon Haiyan: Asean’s Katrina Moment?, Vol. 213/2013 (Singapore: Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2013).
67 https://amti.csis.org/philippines-and-japan-strengthen-a-twenty-first-century-security-partnership/.
68 Greg Sheridan, ‘Greg Sheridan’s Interview with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’, The Australian, July 8, 2014, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/greg-sheridans-interview-with-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/news-story/df414f27010690cf9e7e053dbae73dc3.
69 Prashanth Parameswaran, ‘Japan Eyes Bigger South China Sea Presence in 2016’, The Diplomat, January 12, 2016.
71 Prashanth Parameswaran, ‘Japan Reveals First ASEAN Defense Initiative with “Vientiane Vision”’, The Diplomat, November 26, 2016, https://thediplomat.com/2016/11/japan-reveals-first-asean-defense-initiative-with-vientiane-vision/.
72 Takuya Shimodaira, ‘Cooperating in the South China Sea’, Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute 141, no. 4 (2015).
73 William Pesek, Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan’s Lost Decades (Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, 2014), 180.
74 Associated Press, ‘Typhoon Haiyan: China Gives Less Aid to Philippines Than Ikea’, The Guardian, November 15, 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/14/typhoon-haiyan-china-aid-philippines-ikea; Rob Crilly, ‘Typhoon Haiyan: China under Pressure to Increase Aid to Philippines after Small Donation’, The Telegraph (London), November 15, 2013.
75 Oren Dorrell, ‘China Lags Ikea in Aid to Philippines’, USA Today, November 15, 2013, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/14/china-typhoon-haiyan-aid/3529729/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-mG.uW5lE9mkdNbUtQIBFSw.
76 James R. Holmes, ‘Chinese Soft Power: Another Typhoon Haiyan Victim’, The Diplomat, November 14, 2013, http://thediplomat.com/2013/11/chinese-soft-power-another-typhoon-haiyan-victim/.
77 Oren Dorell, ‘China Lags Ikea in Aid to Philippines’, USA Today, November 15, 2013, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/14/china-typhoon-haiyan-aid/3529729/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-mG.uW5lE9mkdNbUtQIBFSw.
78 Alexander Martin, ‘Philippines Aid Drive Highlights Regional Tensions; Typhoon Relief Mission Brings China’s Territorial Ambitions into Focus’, The Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2013.
79 Christopher B. Roberts, ‘ASEAN: The Challenge of Unity in Diversity’, in The South China Sea Maritime Dispute: Political, Legal and Regional Perspectives, ed. Leszek Buszynski and Christopher B. Roberts (Taylor and Francis, 2014), 148, note 100.
80 Megha Rajagopalan, ‘China’s Meager Aid to the Philippines Could Dent Its Image’, Reuters, November 12, 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-philippines-aid-idUSBRE9AB0LM20131112.
81 James T. Areddy, ‘China: Army Mobilizes to Aid Quake’s Disaster Relief’, Wall Street Journal Asia, August 5, 2014.
82 Rachel Chang, ‘China Beats Bad Image with Big Aid to Africa’, The Straits Times, August 21, 2014.
83 Philippa Brant, ‘Chinese Navy: A Soft-Power Win in the Pacific’, The Interpreter, September 17, 2014, http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2014/09/17/Chinese-navy-peace-ark-soft-power-win-in-the-Pacific.aspx.
86 Ted Galen Carpenter, ‘China’s Meager Typhoon Relief Aid: Is Beijing Sending a Geopolitical Message?’, November 28, 2013, http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/chinas-meager-typhoon-relief-aid-is-beijing-sending-a-geopolitical-message.
87 David Shambaugh, ‘Chinese Thinking About World Order’, in China and the International System : Becoming a World Power, ed. Xiaoming Huang and Robert G. Patman (Routledge, 2013), 22–3.
88 Robert Gilpin, War and Change in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1981), 30.
89 Yan Xuetong, ‘From Keeping a Low Profile to Striving for Achievement’, The Chinese Journal of International Politics 7, no. 2 (2014): 167–68, 183.
90 Jinghan Zeng, Yuefan Xiao, and Shaun Breslin, ‘Securing China’s Core Interests: The State of the Debate in China’, International Affairs 91, no. 2 (2015): 259.
91 Full text of the 2013 White Paper, http://english.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2014/08/23/content_281474982986506.htm.
92 Text of the speech may be found, http://eng.mod.gov.cn/TopNews/2015-05/31/content_4587686.htm.
93 PLAN Senior Captain Zhang Junshe to the PLA Daily, quoted in ‘2nd aircraft carrier to have military focus’, China Daily, January 4, 2016, http://english.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/pla-daily-commentary/2016-01/04/content_6842431.htm.
94 Global Times, November 15, 2013, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/825030.shtml.
95 Xinhua news agency, August 18, 2014, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2014-08/18/content_18441394.htm.
96 China Daily, October 21, 2017, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201710/21/WS5a0cebbaa31061a738406e40.html.
97 See for example ‘Chinese fleet director hails successful RIMPAC debut’, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-08/02/content_18236832.htm.
98 The author has made comments along these lines: ‘How China’s New Aircraft Carriers Will Shape Regional Order’, The Diplomat, August 15, 2018.
99 Grant Newsham, ‘Has the PLA really overlooked its amphibious force?’ The Interpreter, June 1, 2018, https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/has-pla-really-overlooked-its-amphibious-force.
100 Aaron L. Friedberg, The Weary Titan: Britain and the Experience of Relative Decline, 1895–1905 (Princeton University Press, 1988), 288.
101 Gideon Rose, ‘Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy’, World Politics 51, no. 1 (1998): 159.