The ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise 2025 (ARDEX-25), hosted by Cambodia, will begin on Tuesday, July 22, with the aim of testing and evaluating the region’s disaster preparedness and emergency response mechanisms.
The major three-day regional simulation exercise, running from July 22 to 24, will be held at Special Forces Command of the Royal Cambodian Army in Phnom Penh. It is being organised by the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in cooperation with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).
“ARDEX-25 is a full-scale exercise held biennially to test and evaluate ASEAN’s disaster preparedness and emergency response mechanisms. This includes preparation processes, search and rescue operations, impact assessment and national-level immediate response strategies linked to ASEAN, with the aim of saving the lives of disaster victims through search and rescue, healthcare services, temporary shelter, food provision, and water, sanitation and hygiene, among others,” explained the NCDM.
The exercise will also test the ASEAN Standard Operating Procedure for Regional Standby Arrangements and Coordination of Joint Disaster Relief and Emergency Response Operations (SASOP) and the terms of reference for the ASEAN secretary-general as ASEAN humanitarian assistance coordinator. The ARDEX-25 comprises of table-top exercises (TTX), command post exercises (CPX) and field training exercises (FTX).
The exercise will involve approximately 650 participants. They will be drawn from ASEAN member states, Timor-Leste and ASEAN dialogue partners, as well as the ASEAN secretariat, the executive director of the AHA Centre, ambassadors and foreign military attachés accredited to Cambodia.
Representatives of Cambodian government institutions, search and rescue teams, municipal-provincial governors, development partners, UN agencies, international organisations, and the private sector will also take part.
Tomorrow’s opening ceremony will be presided over by senior Minister Kun Kim, first vice-president of the NCDM and chair of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management.
The July 24 closing ceremony will be officiated by Minister of National Defence Tea Seiha.
The previous ARDEX, ARDEX-23, was held in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta. The NCDM has stated that preparations for the exercises have been completed.
