Taiwan launches World Alliance for Disaster Management with 12 founding members
President William Lai announced the establishment of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM) at a forum in Taipei, calling it Taiwan's biggest breakthrough in joining international organisations in over 50 years. The alliance has 12 founding members, including 11 of Taiwan's diplomatic all
President William Lai yesterday announced the establishment of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM) at the opening of the Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum hosted by the Presidential Office in Taipei. The announcement also marked the second anniversary of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee.
The WADM, an international organisation spearheaded by Taiwan, aims to link governments, disaster prevention agencies and organisations around the world to advance joint training, exercises, mutual assistance and information sharing. Lai said the goal is to make Taiwan a cross-border hub for disaster prevention and response coordination.
The founding members consist of 11 of Taiwan's official diplomatic allies with UN seats and the Republic of Somaliland, Lai said. The WADM is made up of central and local governments, disaster prevention agencies and organisations from 21 countries, including the US, Japan, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the Philippines.
“Together they form a cooperation network that spans the globe,” Lai said. “The establishment of the WADM is a major breakthrough for Taiwan in over half a century of efforts to take part in international organisations.”
The committee was established two years ago to boost Taiwanese society's resilience through public-private cooperation and to help the government continue to operate effectively and essential services to function normally should the nation face any type of disaster, Lai said. He cited last month's Han Kuang military exercises and the Urban Resilience Exercises, which enabled non-military government agencies at central and local levels to conduct simultaneous drills under the same conditions.
Taiwan's defense budget has doubled over the past decade, Lai said, adding that his administration has for the first time proposed a defense budget that exceeded NT$1 trillion (US$31.44 billion) for next year. The NT$1.1225 trillion budget would put defense spending above 3 per cent of GDP, and it is expected to reach 5 per cent by 2030, he said.
The forum brought more than 500 local and international defense experts, officials and business representatives to Taipei to exchange views on climate change, “gray zone” aggression and geopolitical risks, and discuss comprehensive resilience models, military-civilian cooperation, psychological defense and resilience partnerships.
