Solidarity Amidst Disaster: A Rational Choice for ASEAN's Resilience through the AHA Centre

Abstract

This article examines the institutional dynamics of ASEAN in disaster governance through a study of the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). Although ASEAN already had pre-existing mechanisms, such as the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), member states agreed to establish the AHA Centre in 2011 to respond to the challenges of increasingly complex disaster management. The central research question is why ASEAN required a new institution amidst its existing institutional framework. Employing a neoliberal institutionalist approach, this paper analyzes how ASEAN member states adopted institutional cooperation without sacrificing the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention. The findings show that the AHA Centre not only strengthens coordination capacity at the regional level but also serves as a vital instrument to effectively channel international assistance to affected communities, enhance human resource capacity in disaster management, and mitigate broader socio-economic impacts. The article concludes that the agreement to establish the AHA Centre reflects the logic of neoliberal institutionalism, whereby institutional cooperation is built to reduce uncertainty, strengthen coordination, and achieve collective benefits in the face of transboundary disaster threats. Thus, ASEAN demonstrates that a regional institution can serve as an effective functional mechanism for humanitarian purposes and enhancing community resilience without undermining member state sovereignty.