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C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 002508 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2017 
TAGS: EAID JA MARR PREL PRM TPHY AOR
 
SUBJECT: THE US-JAPAN-AUSTRALIA CIVIL-MILITARY DISASTER 
ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS ATTAIN THEIR OBJECTIVES--CAN WE PUSH 
FOR MORE? 
 
Classified By: Ambassador J.Thomas Schieffer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
) 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The U.S. Agency for International 
Development and the U.S. Embassy/Tokyo co-hosted with the 
Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) the third 
U.S.-Japan-Australia Civil-Military Disaster Assistance 
Workshop on May 30-31, 2007.  The first day of the workshop 
focused on transition or end-state of disaster assistance, 
i.e., departing the disaster site transferring assistance and 
responsibilities to the host nation, local authorities and 
NGOs.  The second day of the workshop reviewed the previous 
workshops which had focused on predeployment planning, and on 
deployment on-the-ground execution.  Through the review, the 
participants summarized the lessons learned throughout the 
three phases of humanitarian assistance/disaster relief 
(HA/DR). Two significant, new participants were involved in 
this workshop:  (1) the &new8 Japanese Ministry of Defense 
(the Japan Defense Agency became a ministry on 9 January 
2007) with its Self-Defense Forces including its newly formed 
Central Readiness Force, and (2) both Australia Defense and 
Australian Agency for International Development.   All 
participants reported that the objectives of increased mutual 
respect, knowledge, and understanding of both civilian and 
military actors in HA/DR, and the encouragement of the 
continuous dialogue among U.S., Japanese and Australian 
civilian and military officers had been attained.  The goal 
of enhancing joint responses to disasters within the Asian 
Pacific Theater will result from these workshops.  The 
question of whether we expand these workshops to include 
"complex disasters" in addition to responding to &natural 
disasters8 remains unanswered.  However, many participants 
and their agencies are eager to move in this direction.  End 
summary. 
 
--------------- 
Background 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  The Japanese media and public have been highly 
supportive of Japan,s Self Defense Forces engagement, 
assisting overseas disasters.  USAID and the U.S. Embassy has 
used this opportunity not only to increase the knowledge and 
understanding between US-Japan bilateral HA/DR, but to 
encourage the Japan Ministry of Defense/Self Defense Forces, 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan International 
Cooperation Agency, and the Japanese NGOs to assume more 
active roles in disaster assistance as well as in 
peacekeeping operations and in responding to conflicts. 
 
¶3. (C)  Within the US Embassy, STATE, DAO, and AID have been 
working with Japanese officials towards a common 
understanding of the security environment in the Asia-Pacific 
and of global threats (See U.S. Embassy/Tokyo 2008 Mission 
Performance Plan,s Regional Stability Strategic Goal). 
STATE, DAO, and AID have agreed to strengthen the U.S.-Japan 
alliance relationship to meet new and evolving security 
challenges, and "to seek greater Japanese support for and 
participation in UN PKO and international humanitarian 
assistance activities." 
 
--------------------- 
U.S.-Japan Civil-Military Disaster Assistance Workshops 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (U)   In July 2006, USAID and the Japan Institute for 
International Affairs (JIIA), the Ministry of Foreign 
Affair,s think-tank, held its first US-Japan Civil-Military 
Disaster Assistance Workshop focusing on predeployment.  The 
highly successful workshop evaluated by the 78 participants 
led to increased dialogue among the U.S. and Japanese 
military and civilian officials.  This was clearly 
demonstrated in the field during the HA/DR response in 
Central Java, where U.S. and Japanese medical relief teams 
worked together.  Another significant result of the first 
workshop is the increased communication among the Japanese 
agencies where inter- and intra-communications are often very 
stove-piped.  Since the first workshop, the MOD/Self Defense 
Forces, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the 
NGO consortia, Japan Platform, began holding monthly meetings 
to discuss Japan,s HA/DR planning and response. 
 
¶6. (U)   On December 13-14, 2006, USAID and JIIA, with the 
support of the US Embassy Public Affairs and the Tokyo 
 
 
American Center, and the Defense Attach held the second of 
three US-Japan Civil-Military Disaster Assistance Workshops. 
This second workshop focused on on-the-ground execution, 
tools and resources, establishing key contacts. 
 
¶7. (U)  On May 30-31, 2007, USAID and JIIA co-hosted, with 
the support of the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs and the Tokyo 
American Center and the Defense Attach the third workshop, 
focusing on transition or end-state. The participants also 
reviewed the three phases of HA/DR from predeployment 
planning through execution and transition. 
 
------------------------ 
Participants--Critical to Success 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (U)   The U.S. participants represented officers from the 
U.S. Pacific Command; U.S. Seventh Fleet; the Navy Maritime 
Civil Affairs Group (MCAG) Little Creek, VA; III Marine 
Expeditionary Forces (IIIMEF); Pacific Air Forces (PACAF); 
U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ); the USAID/DCHA Office of Foreign 
Disaster Assistance (OFDA)-Washington and Bangkok; and US 
Embassy/Tokyo (Defense Attach, Political/Military, Public 
Affairs and Tokyo American Center, and USAID.) 
Representatives from the International Medical Corps (Santa 
Monica, CA) also participated.   The Japanese participants 
included the Ministry of Defense (MOD) civilians, the MOD 
Joint Staff Office (JSO), Japanese Air Self Defense Force 
(JASDF), Japanese Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF), Japanese 
Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), and the Japanese Central 
Readiness Force.  Senior officials from the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Cabinet Office, and the Japan 
International Cooperation Agency participated.  Also 
participating were officials of the Japan Institute of 
International Affairs and NGO representatives of the NGO 
consortia-Japan Platform, Peace Winds-Japan and the Japan 
Association for Aid and Relief (AAR). 
 
¶9.  (U)   The Chief of the Civil-Military Coordination 
Section of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (UNOCHA)-Geneva and the Senior Regional Program 
Advisor of the World Food Program (WFP)-Bangkok participated. 
 Japan WFP representatives also participated.  The 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) also had a 
representative. 
 
¶10. (U)  In order to strengthen the US-Japan-Australia 
Trilateral Strategic Dialogue, USAID invited Australian 
senior military officers from the Australian Defense Force 
Warfare Centre and from the Australian Agency for 
International Development (AusAID).  In responding to natural 
disasters in the Asia-Pacific, Australia is a key partner to 
the U.S.-Japan Civil-Military HA/DR response. 
 
¶11. (U)  In addition to the above participants from the U.S., 
Japan and Australia, and in addition to the key U.N. 
organization representatives, USAID invited Dr. Pujiono of 
Indonesia.  Dr. Pujiono, who has worked from UNOCHA and UNDP, 
represented the &host nation8 providing the critical 
perspective of the nation in crisis, asking and receiving 
assistance, setting the parameters and timelines of HA/DR. 
Dr. Pujiono presently is working with the Indonesian 
Government to prepare its Disaster Assistance Plans and 
Guidelines. 
 
------------------------- 
Accomplishing Our Objectives 
------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U)  Presentations and discussions focused on the U.S., 
Japanese, and Australian military and civilian, and U.N. 
HA/DR frameworks and operations.  HA/DR case studies of the 
Pakistan earthquake, Central Java earthquake, Indian Ocean 
tsunami, Solomon Islands tsunami, Leyte mudslide were 
 
SIPDIS 
actively discussed.  Key to assistance planning, execution 
and transition were the discussions and presentations by the 
NGOs, host nation, and the U.N. agencies.  Representatives 
from USAID,s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance 
(OFDA) facilitated interactive exercises in planning, 
execution and in reaching the end-state while remaining 
flexible.  Throughout the workshop, Japanese, American, and 
Australian and U.N. participants prepared and discussed 
response options, exploring ideas for US-Japan-Australian 
cooperation.  The participants reported high satisfaction 
 
 
with all three workshops, with the culminating third workshop 
being excellently presented. The participants also reported 
that the dialogue within as well as among the national groups 
continues to be pivotal to building trust and confidence and 
to increasing the "intra-" and inter-" dialogue and reducing 
the stove-piping.  Key to workshop success has been the 
opportunity to discuss informally with others, whether from 
one,s immediate office or from another nation, whether 
civilian or military. 
 
¶13. (U)  The Third Workshop closed with an address by MOD JSO 
J3 Lieutenant General Koji Shimohira who announced that as a 
result of these workshops the MODA would hold a table top 
exercise in December 2007 and a command post exercise in 2008 
on humanitarian assistance/disaster relief. 
 
¶14. (U)  Ambassador Schieffer hosted a reception for the 
participants plus the invited senior members and officials 
from the Diet, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet, and the NGO and academic 
communities.  All participants and other invited guests had 
the opportunity to discuss informally how the U.S., Japan, 
and Australia, civilians and military, could partner in 
responding to disasters. 
 
--------------- 
Next Steps 
--------------- 
 
¶15.  (U)   After these US-Japan-Australian civil-military 
workshops, U.S., Japanese, Australian and U.N. participants 
are even more enthusiastic--eager to build further respect, 
knowledge and understanding within and among each other. 
This respect, knowledge and understanding, followed by a 
continuous dialogue, will enhance US-Japan-Australian HA/DR 
operations in the Asian and Pacific Theater.  USAID/Tokyo is 
continue to actively engage the various Japanese, U.S. and 
Australian entities represented at the Workshop, to 
continually improving the contact lists in the case of future 
disasters abroad or in Japan. 
 
¶16. (C)   All participants encouraged the continuation of the 
US-Japan-Australia civil-military disaster assistance 
workshop every six to nine months.  Many of the participants 
have expressed that the civil-military dialogue should be 
expanded to include &complex disasters8, or man-made 
disasters such as Darfur, Timor Leste, and Afghanistan. 
Other participants, although fewer, have expressed that the 
dialogue should continue its HA/DR focus on natural 
disasters.  Each participating country handles differently 
natural and man-made disasters, within its ministries and 
departments.  We do envision that  with more confident and 
competent joint HA/DR operations, and with continuous 
dialogue, the U.S., Japan, and Australia will be working 
together in peacekeeping and conflict areas. 
SCHIEFFER