Indonesia has not received diplomatic note from ASEAN countries over forest fires
Deputy Chairman of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Dave Laksono has confirmed that no country has yet submitted a protest note regarding the impact of forest and land fires (karhutla) in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
“As far as the information I have received, there has been no confirmation of an official protest note from either Malaysia or Singapore to Indonesia,” said Dave Laksono when contacted by ANTARA from Jakarta on Saturday.
Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of ensuring effective handling of forest and land fires on the ground as well as maintaining communication with other ASEAN member states regarding the impact of the fires.
He urged the government to continue strengthening efforts to prevent and handle forest and land fires swiftly and in an integrated manner.
“Early detection, firefighting, aerial operations, monitoring of land clearing, and law enforcement must be carried out in an integrated way. Coordination between central and regional governments must also be ensured to be effective, especially in areas with high potential for forest and land fires,” said Dave.
In addition, he also asked the Indonesian government to continue maintaining open and constructive communication with the governments of Malaysia and Singapore.
He said the Indonesian government could convey the handling measures being taken while also opening space for coordination on information exchange and technical cooperation if necessary.
“With good communication, we can ensure that this issue is handled proportionally and does not develop into a diplomatic problem,” said Dave.
He added that the Indonesian government must demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting the public and the environment, while remaining open to regional cooperation.
“I am optimistic that with swift, measured and coordinated steps, the impact of forest and land fires can be minimised so that it does not develop into a cross-border issue,” said Dave.
On Friday (21/8), Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Puan Maharani highlighted that smoke haze from forest and land fires in Kalimantan had caused hundreds of schools in Malaysia to be closed.
Singapore has also asked its citizens to be alert to the impact of forest and land fires in Indonesia. For this reason, she urged that the matter be addressed immediately.
“We have received protest notes from neighbouring countries several times due to the impact of forest and land fires. Do not wait until friendly countries lodge their objections again because forest and land fires are not being resolved quickly,” Puan stressed.
In a media briefing on 13 August, spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela confirmed that the government continues to coordinate with neighbouring countries and utilise existing ASEAN mechanisms to address the impact of forest and land fires in the Southeast Asian region.