Singapore and Indonesia plan joint task force to pursue firms behind haze

Singapore and Indonesia plan to set up a joint task force to go after companies linked to the forest fires that have sent haze across parts of South-east Asia. Their foreign ministers announced the plan after talks in Jakarta on October 27.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir made the announcement after meeting his Singapore counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan. The Straits Times reported that the task force would combine information sharing, financial intelligence and cross-border evidence gathering, with the possibility of recovering assets linked to the companies responsible. "Smoke can cross borders, so can money," Arrmanatha said. He said Singapore had offered to share data on firms linked to the fires and Indonesia welcomed it.

The two outlets described the plan in slightly different terms. The Straits Times reported that Singapore had agreed to Indonesia's proposal and that the countries will establish the body. The South China Morning Post said the ministers had discussed setting it up during a two-hour meeting. The Post reported that the visit followed growing frustration in Singapore over haze from Indonesia's most intense forest fires in 11 years. It also reported that Indonesia's energy minister had hit back at Singapore over comments about the countries' gas supply contract, calling them a "lecture".

Balakrishnan said Singapore would act against companies responsible for the haze, including those based in Singapore. "We are going to exercise all, every single legal and regulatory power," he said, according to The Straits Times. Singapore's National Environment Agency has issued preventive-measures notices to 10 companies in Indonesia linked to fires suspected of contributing to the haze. It has also asked 10 Singapore-based companies for information and documents as part of investigations under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

Arrmanatha said Indonesians were the first victims of the fires, particularly in Sumatra and Kalimantan. He said President Prabowo Subianto had made tackling them a national priority, with about 71,000 ground personnel and 51 aerial units deployed. Severe El Nino conditions had made firefighting harder. He said hundreds of individuals and more than 50 corporations had been investigated or prosecuted, and some had been found guilty under Indonesian law. Balakrishnan said he agreed that Indonesians were the primary victims.

The ministers also agreed to set up a hotline at ministerial and senior official levels to help manage differences, The Straits Times reported. It was their first official meeting since Arrmanatha took up the post on October 1, replacing Sugiono in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Both ministers said they would build on the 26 agreements signed at the leaders' retreat in July. The two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2027, the year Singapore chairs ASEAN.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Singapore, Indonesia to create haze task force, share data amid tensions; The Straits Times, Singapore, Indonesia to set up joint task force to hold firms accountable for forest fires.