Indonesia Says It Is Regularly Reporting on Forest and Land Fire Response to ASEAN
Jakarta (ANTARA) — Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said the government had fulfilled all its obligations to report regularly to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC) on its response to forest and land fires.
The centre has placed Southeast Asia on Level 3 alert for forest and land fires since August 2026.
“We have shared all our data, the steps we are taking, the situation and its developments,” Arrmanatha told reporters at the Senayan parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Thursday.
He said the ASEAN mechanism, through the ACC THPC, requires Southeast Asian countries affected by transboundary haze to fulfil certain obligations.
“Indonesia has met all its obligations to report regularly,” he said.
Arrmanatha added that Indonesia’s response had reduced the number of fire hotspots each day, despite major weather-related challenges.
“According to the latest report I received, there is progress every day and the number of hotspots is declining. For details, you may wish to ask the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB),” he said.
Indonesia’s efforts to tackle the fires have been acknowledged by several neighbouring countries. Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the Malaysian government recognised that Indonesia was doing its utmost to extinguish the fires and expressed concern about the situation.
Malaysia nevertheless hopes Indonesia can take more effective measures, as the current situation is having a negative impact on communities.
Hasan plans to raise the issue of transboundary haze at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers scheduled to take place before the 49th ASEAN Summit in Manila this November.
Singapore has also praised Indonesia’s efforts to control the fires and is ready to provide assistance to address the effects of the haze.
Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, said her country was also ready to participate in regional initiatives to tackle the impact of fires in several ASEAN countries.