The Philippines is still struggling to cope with the catastrophic results of Typhoon Haiyan, which affected 11 million of its people, killing some 4,000, with over a thousand more missing and millions left without homes and jobs. The extent of the work that needs to be done is daunting. The Philippines authorities, led by the armed forces, have set with a will to clear roads and restore communications and power, so that coordination of a still massive rescue effort can be effected. Now, perhaps, is not the time for the country's president, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, to be apportioning blame for what he sees as the inadequate preparations and response of some local governments to the typhoon. Whatever the rightness of his comments, made when he visited parts of the stricken region this week, they were not helpful. First of all, they did nothing to advance the efforts to feed, care for and sustain the hundreds of thousands of survivors of this natural disaster. Rather they will have caused resentment among exhausted local officials, who are working flat out to do what they can to help the victims. And in any event, Typhoon Haiyan was the most violent and destructive storm since records began. Maybe some regional authorities could not bring themselves to believe that such a powerful force would ever hit them, and thus prepared only for the normal typhoons which are part of life in the Philippines. Unfortunately for the president, his comments will also have made some people think that he was seeking to divert attention away from criticism of his own government's response to the typhoon. Those censures are no more timely, nor more appropriate, than his own attack on some of the local authorities. There will be time enough for deciding who failed in their duty to do what. For the moment the priority has to be on saving the living. In this respect Aquino is now doing rather well. He is putting in place work schemes whereby those who have lost their means of earning a living can be employed in helping the huge clean-up effort. The full enormity of the task ahead is underlined by the almost continuous scaling up of the international aid effort, led notably by the Americans. They have once again demonstrated that they have the logistical muscle to reach out and bring succor to stricken communities anywhere in the world. Along with dozens of other countries, they have sent financial and physical aid and specialist personnel. Moreover, they are committed to continuing this support into the longer-term, so that these devastated communities can rebuild themselves. By contrast, the Chinese, who now see themselves as the real regional power, have failed quite spectacularly to offer serious help. Their initial offer of $100,000 was an appalling error of judgement, which caused derisory laughter around the world. More than a week after the disaster, they have said that they are now ready to send in specialist teams to help the rescue and recovery effort. It is unclear if this offer will be accepted. President Aquino would be wise to do so. The Chinese have lost considerable face in their grievous mishandling of their response to Typhoon Haiyan. Helping them overcome their humiliation would be a gesture that ought not to be forgotten by Beijing, and might even impact on rancorous relations over the disputed Spratly Islands.
