Person

Vivian Balakrishnan

1. Singapore and Indonesia plan joint haze task force to share data and go after assets of firms linked to fires

   Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visited Jakarta on Tuesday, Oct 27, and held two hours of talks with his Indonesian counterpart; the two sides said they are setting up a joint working group to tackle cross-border haze from Indonesian forest fires, including information sharing, cross-border evidence gathering and even recovering assets of companies linked to the fires. Indonesia is experiencing its worst forest fires in nearly 11 years, and frustration over the haze has grown in Singapore; Indonesia's energy minister had earlier called Singapore's comments on a bilateral gas supply contract 'preachy'. Rain has brought temporary relief, but underground peat fires are still burning, and toxic haze has spread across Southeast Asia, closing schools and causing respiratory illness.

   Oct 28, 2026 Morning