Carriers of hope: Why ASEAN prefers humanitarian operations at sea

This month, the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales joined Japan’s formidable fleet for joint exercises—an unmistakable demonstration of allied resolve in the face of intensifying geopolitical rivalry. For many, it was a signal to Beijing.

But for Southeast Asia, a region prone to typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis, such deployments evoke a different question: can these colossal assets be re-purposed as platforms for life-saving humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR)?

No region is as vulnerable to natural disasters as ASEAN. Indonesia alone straddles the Ring of Fire, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes a grim part of its geography. The Philippines is lashed by an average of 20 typhoons a year. Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam all face recurring floods that devastate lives and livelihoods.

When calamity strikes, time is everything—and the ability to deploy large-scale logistics, medical facilities, helicopters, and relief supplies swiftly can mean the difference between despair and recovery.

This is where the presence of aircraft carriers—often seen as symbols of projection and power—can serve a nobler purpose.

Their cavernous hangars, flight decks, and onboard hospitals are uniquely suited to deliver aid at scale.

Their mobility allows them to arrive at coastlines where terrestrial infrastructure has collapsed. Their command-and-control capabilities can help knit together the patchwork of local, regional, and international responders into a coherent operation.

ASEAN has long preferred HADR cooperation to overt military manoeuvres.

Unlike Europe, with its NATO architecture, Southeast Asia has never sought a collective defence pact.

Instead, its cooperative instinct has been to build trust through practical tasks—search and rescue, joint medical missions, and disaster relief. Even in the most trying moments of regional tension, humanitarian operations have remained the least controversial form of security cooperation.

They generate goodwill at home and abroad, while strengthening interoperability without triggering anxieties of militarisation.

For Indonesia, which will remain the natural leader of ASEAN given its geography and demography, this approach is both pragmatic and principled.

Jakarta has consistently stressed that the Asia-Pacific must not be defined by bloc politics or military blocs. But Indonesia has also been among the most ardent advocates of bolstering regional disaster response.

From the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to the Palu earthquake in 2018, Jakarta has witnessed first-hand how international assistance can accelerate recovery.

The lesson is simple: in Southeast Asia, foreign aircraft carriers are most welcome when they come laden with aid, not armed with confrontation.

This does not mean the region ignores hard security concerns. China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, or U.S. tariff pressures are all real challenges. But ASEAN’s comparative advantage lies in its ability to reframe threats into opportunities for cooperation.

The Western Pacific’s double-carrier operations, if integrated into ASEAN-led HADR frameworks, could become part of a broader regional safety net. Imagine allied carriers standing by not only for deterrence but also for deployment when the next Haiyan-scale typhoon strikes.

ASEAN’s leaders should seize this moment to formalise such dual-use cooperation.

The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) has already identified HADR as a priority area.

By inviting partner navies—including those who operate carriers—to embed their humanitarian role in regional planning, ASEAN can ensure that the hardware of war becomes the hardware of relief.

The world will continue to watch naval exercises in the Pacific as signals of great-power competition. But from Jakarta to Manila, from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, ordinary citizens will judge them by a simpler metric: do they help save lives when disaster strikes?

For ASEAN, the true measure of power projection lies not in coercion but in compassion.

In the end, an aircraft carrier’s might is best expressed not when its jets take off in combat, but when its helicopters land with medicine, food, and hope.