MANILA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto apologised on Sunday to Singapore and Malaysia, on behalf of his government, for any impact that forest fires in Indonesia may have had on their people, in remarks conveyed during a session of the ASEAN summit meeting in Manila, according to a statement from Indonesia's presidential palace reported by Reuters. The South China Morning Post also reported the apology.

Source: Reuters, Nov 15, 2026

Prabowo said Indonesian authorities have taken and will continue to take firm action against companies involved in forest fire cases, and that the government is preparing to establish a new body to strengthen forest-fire prevention, Reuters reported.

The Philippines' foreign minister, Theresa Lazaro, told a news briefing on Sunday that Indonesia was very candid in expressing what it had done to address the forest fires. She said ASEAN leaders also encouraged member states to prioritise ratification of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, Reuters reported.

The worst fires in 11 years

Indonesia has been battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with large areas of land scorched, mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua, Reuters reported. Smoke from the fires has drifted across borders to neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia, the recurring transboundary haze problem that has strained relations in Southeast Asia for decades.

The health cost inside Indonesia has already been severe. In October, reporting cited by Awaaz Punjab put respiratory cases linked to the haze at about 283,000 as the smoke spread across the region, and protesters in fire-hit areas demanded that Jakarta declare a national emergency.

A World Weather Attribution study reported on November 12 found that about 2.88 million hectares burned in Indonesia's August–October fire season, and that human-induced climate change had added about 1.6 degrees Celsius of heat and made fire-prone conditions about three times more likely, on top of a strong El Niño that cut seasonal rainfall.

Singapore and Indonesia agreed a joint haze task force in October to share information and chase companies linked to the fires. Read: Singapore and Indonesia agree joint haze task force

What happens next turns on whether Jakarta's promised new prevention body and the joint work with Singapore move faster than the fire season itself. With the ASEAN summit continuing in Manila, the apology puts Indonesia's fire response — and its enforcement against companies — formally on the regional record.