[Title] EAST ASIA SUMMIT LEADERS' STATEMENT ON PROMOTING LOCALISATION IN ANTICIPATORY ACTION FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

EAST ASIA SUMMIT LEADERS' STATEMENT ON PROMOTING LOCALISATION IN ANTICIPATORY ACTION FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

WE, the participating countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS), met on 27 October 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, under Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship on the occasion of the 20th East Asia Summit;

RECOGNISING the increasing complexity of the disaster risks landscape that continues to grow globally in frequency and intensity, driven by threats to our natural environment, rapid urbanisation, and socio-economic conditions that exacerbate the impacts of disasters, thereby emphasising the urgent need to strengthen the ASEAN Community's resilience to disasters;

RECALLING the 2009 Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on East Asia Summit Disaster Management that reinforces regional cooperation and collaboration for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and the 2014 East Asia Summit Statement on Rapid Disaster Response that emphasises the need for a more coordinated and planned regional approach to responding rapidly to disasters;

NOTING that anticipatory action has proven to be an effective mechanism for reducing disaster impacts, supported by localisation, which entails the active participation of relevant local authorities, communities, and organisations, as well as the private sector, in the planning, implementation, and ownership of such measures;

RECALLING that localisation has been highlighted in key frameworks and agreements, including the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), ASEAN Declaration on One ASEAN, One Response: ASEAN Responding to Disasters as One in the Region and Outside the Region, ASEAN Framework on Anticipatory Action in Disaster Management, ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Sustainable Resilience, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Co-Chairs' Summary of the Seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), also known as the Bali Agenda for Resilience;

APPRECIATING that localisation in anticipatory action can reduce the physical, social, and economic vulnerability of the communities and provide targeted solutions to an area-specific hazard;

ACKNOWLEDGING the need to promote localisation in anticipatory action for disaster preparedness and response, ensuring that local authorities, communities, and organisations, as well as the private sector, play a central role in preventing, mitigating, preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters, including building community resilience and reducing the impact of disasters, while also strengthening national and regional cooperation and mechanisms;

EMPHASISING the importance of developing science and technology-based, locally-tailored, and regularly-updated disaster risk assessments, along with hazard maps and impact-based early warning systems, as critical enablers of an anticipatory approach grounded in timely and accurate risk management information systems;

RECOGNISING that prudent, risk-informed investment, including in measures addressing potential natural hazards, offers more enduring, cost-effective and fairly distributed solutions to reducing disaster risk and ensuring the long-term resilience of communities;

WE HEREBY DECLARE on the 20th East Asia Summit to reaffirm our shared commitment to:

1. FULFILL regional and international commitments, including, as applicable, those outlined in the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on the Strategic and Holistic Initiative to Link ASEAN Responses to Emergencies and Disasters (ASEAN SHIELD), ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Sustainable Resilience, the ASEAN Framework on Anticipatory Action in Disaster Management, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Statements on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (2006 and 2018), and EAS Statements on disaster management, which emphasise the critical role of local communities in disaster management that are responsive to the needs of all;

2. STRENGTHEN regional collaboration by sharing best practices, experiences, expertise, and resources, and through capacity building initiatives, and other appropriate methods among EAS participating countries, including through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre);

3. ENCOURAGE EAS participating countries to promote investment in local anticipatory action capacities, infrastructure and early warning systems for disaster risk reduction, ensuring that local authorities, communities, and organisations, as well as the private sector, are central to preparedness and early action, while also increasing the resilience of nations and communities through integrating disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure and societal systems, and into the revitalisation of livelihoods, and economies in the post-disaster recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction phase;

4. FOSTER multi-stakeholder partnerships among EAS participating countries, enhancing cooperation with the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and the AHA Centre, the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change (ACCC), the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC), local governments, the private sector, academia, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen capacities and resources;

5. ENCOURAGE collaboration towards enhancing effectiveness of early warning systems at the local level and enhance mobile-based early warning alerts, community-based risk mapping using GIS, as well as accurate AI-powered disaster forecasting models, to ensure effective interpretation and dissemination of early warning information in the region;

6. STRENGTHEN the role of relevant local authorities, communities, and organisations, as well as the private sector, by supporting their participation in regional and community-led disaster preparedness and response initiatives, including capacity development, national and regional exercises, and implementation of contextually relevant anticipatory actions that build local resilience;

7. SUPPORT local communities by resolutely and systematically leveraging the uniqueness of their culture and wisdom, while recognising that local communities are the first responders in most disasters and underlining the critical role played by in-country capacities in disaster risk reduction;

8. EXPLORE the development of national-level guidelines or mechanisms, which could include pre-arranged financing, to facilitate rapid decision-making and the delivery of effective anticipatory actions at the local level that would support sustainable and resilient communities;

9. SUPPORT the integration and effective implementation of localisation principles within national contexts, as appropriate, and into relevant regional disaster management frameworks, including through EAS statements.

ADOPTED in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the Twenty-Seventh Day of October in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Five.