The prolonged smog has severely strained relations between Indonesia and its regional partners as public frustration mounts over annual agricultural land clearing. In response, Singapore deployed masks, opened hundreds of haze shelters, and launched probes into 10 domestic firms tied to the burning. Although bilateral talks led to the creation of a joint task force, friction persists over contentious remarks by Indonesian officials. Tensions deepened further when Indonesia moved to trim gas exports to Singapore following warnings against foreign criticism.
Key points
Strong El Niño drought conditions have intensified the annual corporate land-clearing bla…: Strong El Niño drought conditions have intensified the annual corporate land-clearing blazes across Indonesia.
Diplomatic relations are fraying as public outcry in Malaysia and Singapore pushes govern…: Diplomatic relations are fraying as public outcry in Malaysia and Singapore pushes governments to penalize responsible entities.
Bilateral cooperation through a newly formed joint task force remains hampered by politic…: Bilateral cooperation through a newly formed joint task force remains hampered by political spats and trade retaliation.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Published
The haze billowing out from wildfires in the Indonesian regions of Kalimantan, Papua and Sumatra knows no borders.
Carried by winds to nearby Singapore and Malaysia, the toxic smog has in recent weeks impacted populations across maritime South East Asia, triggering respiratory illnesses and headaches.
It's also giving the region's governments a different kind of headache - split between the mounting frustrations of their citizens and the risk of souring diplomatic ties with Indonesia.
"People are fed up, angry and anxious," Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, tells the BBC. "The governments have to respond to them, or else what is more an external issue has become an internal one with ample headroom for politicisation."
Indonesia's wildfires are a yearly occurrence, widely associated with industrial-scale land clearing to make way for crops like oil palm.
But the blazes this year have been particularly difficult to tame due to a strong El Niño, which has exacerbated drought conditions in the country's forests and peatlands.
Whereas previous haze episodes in Singapore and Malaysia have typically…
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