Indonesia says it can fight forest fires without foreign help for now
Indonesia says it can manage widespread fires with its own resources, while offers from Singapore and Malaysia remain subject to coordination and approval.
Indonesia said on Monday, October 19, in Jakarta that it could fight widespread forest and land fires with its own resources for now, according to CNA, leaving offers of help from Singapore and Malaysia short of deployment as haze affects parts of the region.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman linked the availability of foreign assistance to a national-disaster declaration, CNA reported. He said accepting help would also bring technical challenges on the ground. Indonesia has not declared the fires a national disaster, according to CNA’s account.
How Indonesia is handling offers from Singapore and Malaysia
ANTARA News reported a different emphasis in Dudung’s October 19 remarks: Indonesia had responded to both countries’ offers, and assistance from Singapore would be coordinated with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, known as BNPB. It was not immediately clear how that coordination fits with the national-disaster condition Dudung described to CNA, or whether that condition applies to every form of foreign help.
The position follows an earlier signal of approval. Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said on October 15 that President Prabowo had approved foreign assistance and that BNPB was discussing the technical arrangements, CNA reported. ANTARA also reported Nasir’s account of the president’s approval. Neither report establishes that foreign aircraft or personnel have begun firefighting operations in Indonesia.
Malaysia has prepared 52 personnel and three aircraft to assist, according to ANTARA. Separately, CNA reported that Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had described an offer involving a Bombardier CL-415MP firefighting aircraft, three helicopters and 50 personnel, pending Indonesia’s official approval. The differing figures describe reported offers and preparations, not confirmed deployments.
Fires, haze and Indonesia’s domestic response
Forest and land fires have sent haze across parts of the region for several weeks, CNA reported. Singapore and Malaysia have offered assistance as their governments consider the effects beyond Indonesia. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said his country would keep working with Indonesia and its ASEAN partners, while Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim proposed an ASEAN-wide mechanism for coordinating responses to transboundary haze.
Indonesia has deployed 60,000 personnel and 47 aircraft against fires in several locations, according to ANTARA. That domestic response provides the context for Dudung’s assertion that the country can currently manage the blazes itself, even as officials discuss how outside assistance could be put into operation.
Singapore had already offered help during the regional haze episode, as covered in NewsJaws’ earlier report on Singapore’s offer to help Indonesia fight the fires. Senior Minister K Shanmugam welcomed Prabowo’s approval of foreign assistance on October 19, CNA reported. The latest remarks leave the practical terms for using that help unresolved.
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Sources and context
- Indonesia holds off on foreign help to fight forest fires, says it can manage on its ownCNA
- Indonesia's BNPB to coordinate firefighting aid from SingaporeANTARA News
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.