Indonesian-Singapore Agree to form Joint Task Force on Forest and Land Fires

Jakarta: Indonesia and Singapore have agreed to form a joint task force to strengthen cooperation in handling forest and land fires, including cross-border information exchange and evidence gathering on companies allegedly linked to the fires.

The agreement was announced by Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir in a joint press statement with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan following a bilateral meeting at the Pancasila Building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

Foreign Minister Tata, as known as Arrmanatha said the cooperation is needed to ensure that companies profiting from forest burning do not escape accountability simply because they operate across borders.

"No national border should defense those who profit from burning forests," said Foreign Minister Tata.

Foreign Minister Tata explained that the task force will link information exchange, financial intelligence, cross-border evidence gathering, and potentially asset recovery.

“This cooperation will conect information exchange, financial intelligence, cross-border evidence gathering, and if possible asset recovery as well,” Menlu Tata said.

He added, Singapura has offered data exchange about companies that allegedly link to forest and land fires and Indonesia has welcomed that offer to strengthen investigation.

Forest and Land Fire Handling
Domestically, Foreign Minister Tata stated that the government has deployed around 71,000 ground personnel and 51 air units in several provinces in Indonesia. The handling methods include water bombing, dry ice, and weather modification.

Foreign Minister Tata stated that hundreds of individuals and more than 50 companies are already under investigation and have been charged in connection with the forest and land fires. He stressed that the government will use all legal instruments against the parties involved.

On the same occasion, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan confirmed that his country supports the formation of a joint task force.

"Singapore has agreed," Vivian said.

He emphasized that Singapore will use all available policy and regulatory authority to take action against companies responsible for transboundary haze, including companies registered in Singapore.

"We are ready to use a broader range of legal, regulatory, and economic measures to prevent similar violations in the future," he said.

(Yaumil Tianri Rahmi)