Military Provision of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in Non-Conflict Crises

There is an upward trend in the use of military personnel and assets to provide domestic and international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. International humanitarian law has constrained military involvement by imposing particular obligations when it comes to providing assistance. In nonconflict situations, however, these constraints are becoming increasingly unreasonable given that the priority is to fill the gap between global humanitarian capacity and actual community need. Militaries in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region have been proactively assessing their performance in humanitarian missions, and some have made significant progress in advancing civilian-military coordination. Future efforts must focus on improving the integration of military modes of operation and assets into emerging frameworks for disaster management and humanitarian efforts. Military policy makers need to assume a more active role in expanding their focus beyond response to all phases of disasters: prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.