Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Wednesday, January 20, 2010 9:28 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Sponsors
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 75% for all hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and whole China. Lowest rates for Flights in China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.

When natural disasters strike is it a 'declaration of war'?

Humans from basically every culture have trained warriors to fight in defense of their homelands. Some of the most effective organizations we have on the planet are our military ones, with clear chains of command, disciplined soldiers properly trained to obey orders and a collection of hardware that includes everything from helicopters to squads that can make pontoon bridges in hours. After the wars of the 20th century, including two World Wars, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam and the Cold War, much of the planet has moved away from large scale conflicts. A notable exception of course was the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, but trends do seem to be pointing away from world wars and towards internal squabbles and civil war—like conflicts. The current fight in Afghanistan — operations against rogue terrorists and insurgents — demonstrates the style of conflicts we are more likely to see over the next century. But beyond their duties as peacekeepers and nation builders, the militaries of the world must begin to reorient their operations towards disaster relief. The reason is simple: When it comes to a tragedy such as we are now witnessing in Haiti, no other organization can successfully do what a strong military can. Dangerous rescue operations must be undertaken, aid has to be delivered and security maintained — with force if necessary. Fire departments and police, no matter how devoted, simply cannot mount effective large-scale operations in the way a military can.

Taiwan has seen its share of disasters and there is no doubt it will see them again. If we are to take seriously the concept that the military must become a primary agent of action when a disaster strikes, we must begin to realistically consider what tools and training they will need for these types of missions. During last year's Typhoon Morakot disaster, the ROC military was hampered by a lack of large helicopters that can fly heavy equipment into mountainous or other rural areas. When disaster strikes, it should be considered a “declaration of war,” and when war is declared, troops must spring into action because frequently they're the only ones who can. As we move into the second decade of the 21st century, the time has come for militaries everywhere to re-imagine their roles as first responders to a major crisis and decide if they have the tools and training for the job.

1|2