China, Japan, S Korea start exercise on disaster management

Officials from China, Japan and South Korea started a two-day Trilateral Table Top Exercise (TTX) on Thursday in Tokyo, which aims at increasing natural disaster coping capacity.

The second TTX on disaster management is participated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, Emergency Management Office of China's State Council; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Office of Japan; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Emergency Management of South Korea.

According to the Secretary General Iwatani Shigeo, "the 2nd TTX will increase mutual understanding of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanisms and processes of the affected country (Japan) and assisting countries (China and South Korea) in response to large-scale natural disasters."

Besides officials of the three countries, experts from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Japan International Cooperation Agency will deliver presentations from international and local viewpoints.

The first TTX was held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, in March 2013. As one of the outcomes of the third Trilateral Heads of Government Agency Meeting on Disaster Management held in Seoul, Oct 2013, the heads of government agencies from the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to designing regular programs on TTX to prepare for natural disasters.