Interesting responses from onetrack and Stanley11 here:
onetrack:
No, there is no over-arching central command for SAR in a search like this. The reasons being - we're talking a couple of different countries jurisdictions, several different military heirarchies controlling their military equipment, multiple language problems, and a rush to show who can produce the best SAR results.
My money is on the Vietnamese Navys near-new DHC-6-400 Twin Otters producing rapid results today. These aircraft were purchased specifically for maritime patrol and maritime SAR.
and
Stanley11:
Politics in this area is indeed complex but typically the Armed Forces work very well at the ground/tactical level. Multinational search and rescue efforts happens quite regularly around here due to natural disasters.
If a global UN Search and Rescue organisation were considered unpalatable, might REGIONAL SAR Coordination Centres, each with the authority to control assets from member's forces/emergency services be a better (less sensitive) option than an all-out UN umbrella organisation?
Might UN control of such centres help in the international political arena whilst giving smaller nations a feeling of autonomy at least on a regional level?
Look, joining a "club" is never easy - look at the EU!!!!! Look also at the struggles in and around the former Soviet Union. But human disasters, at least in times of (relative) peace have at least a tacit desire to pull people out of the deep brown sticky stuff. Might such an organisation help in the future?
If, in doing what we have always done, we shouldn't be too surprised that we get what we always got! Change is needed.