Indonesia and Singapore are looking to set up a joint task force to deal with haze from Indonesia's wildfires, the countries' foreign ministers said on Tuesday, 27 October, as they met in Jakarta to reaffirm ties after weeks of simmering tensions, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via WIXX
After a two-hour meeting, the two top diplomats discussed a task force that would enable the countries to share information, gather cross-border evidence and potentially even recover assets from companies linked to the forest fires, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said, according to Reuters. "We must follow the money trail these companies have left behind. Singapore offered to share data on companies linked to the fires," Nasir said. "No border should shield those who profit from burning our forests."
Reporting on the same joint press conference, CNA said the two countries had agreed to establish the task force, with cooperation covering financial intelligence, cross-border evidence gathering and potential asset recovery. Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore is prepared to use a wider range of legal, regulatory and economic measures against companies responsible, including those registered in Singapore, CNA reported.
Source: CNA via BBRW
Singapore has issued preventive notices to 10 companies potentially linked to fires in Indonesia, including Singapore-registered firms. Indonesia says hundreds of individuals and more than 50 corporations have been investigated or are being prosecuted, with some found guilty under Indonesian law, and President Prabowo Subianto has directed authorities to intensify efforts, CNA reported.
"Singapore stands in solidarity with Indonesia. (Haze) is a common problem, and one that we can best achieve collectively," Balakrishnan said after the meeting, according to Reuters. Both ministers said the first victims of the haze were Indonesians themselves. The fires — Indonesia's most intense in 11 years — have caused a spike in respiratory illnesses in Indonesia and engulfed neighbouring Singapore, Malaysia and East Timor in smoke, Reuters reported.
The meeting also came against a second tension neither minister mentioned in their remarks: Jakarta cut pipelined gas supplies to Singapore by about 8 per cent as of Saturday, saying it was safeguarding domestic supplies, Reuters reported in separate reporting. Singapore generates up to 95 per cent of its electricity from natural gas, though the cut amounts to less than 2 per cent of its daily demand. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday he expects contract signatories to honour their commitments, while Indonesia's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the supply now being sent met the minimum level stipulated under their agreement.
Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld