US hosts humanitarian assistance exercise with Quad partners

New York/Washington, Dec 7 (PTI) The US has hosted an annual humanitarian assistance exercise in Hawaii with Quad partners Australia, India, and Japan to strengthen disaster-response capabilities across the Indo-Pacific.

The fourth annual Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) Tabletop Exercise and Strategic Meeting was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from December 2-5.

The annual event brought together government officials from the US, Australia, India, and Japan to strengthen the grouping's disaster-response capabilities across the Indo-Pacific, the State Department said in a press statement on Friday.

The exercise underscores the Quad’s commitment to reliable and effective lifesaving support for the people of the region, it said.

As a founding pillar of the Quad partnership, HADR is a cornerstone of the group's efforts to advance peace, security, prosperity, and resilience in the Indo-Pacific.

The US noted that the bloc's coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance in response to the devastating earthquake in Myanmar in March was a "testament" to its "ability to mobilise resources and rapidly deliver life-saving assistance”.

In March, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, home to 1.2 million people, killing thousands and injuring and displacing many more. The shallow depth of the quake, about 10 km, resulted in intense shaking that devastated the region and was felt as far away as Bangkok. PTI YAS SCY SCY