Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has assured that the government continues addressing the cross-border impacts of forest and land fires through regional cooperation to maintain stable relations in Southeast Asia.
Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Indonesia communicates and coordinates with neighboring countries while utilizing ASEAN mechanisms to address haze pollution.
“Indonesia consistently prioritizes cooperation with neighboring countries and maintains good bilateral relations, particularly in addressing environmental issues with cross-border impacts such as haze,” Mulachela said in a statement on Saturday.
He said the government has consistently implemented mitigation measures through the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP).
Mulachela noted that the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), acting as the interim office of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC), activated Regional Alert Level 3 on Aug. 26, 2026.
Following the activation, ASEC instructed all ASEAN member states to submit daily situation reports (SITREPs), including haze trajectory maps, and distribute them across the bloc.
“Indonesia continues to fulfill its obligations to submit daily reports and take the mandatory measures required under Alert Level 3 in accordance with standard procedures,” the spokesperson said.
Mandatory measures include proactively reporting hotspot data, environmental conditions, haze movement trajectories, and suppression operations to ASEC, which serves as the interim office of the ACC THPC.
“Regular meetings to discuss the haze issue and coordinate follow-up measures are also continuing,” he added.
The Indonesian government continues optimizing strategies to extinguish forest fires and mitigate their impacts both domestically and regionally.
According to data from the Ministry of Forestry’s Sipongi monitoring system, hotspot counts in West Kalimantan increased from 273 to 859 as of Sept. 1, 2026, while Central Kalimantan rose from 253 to 623.
South Sumatra recorded an increase from 20 to 89 hotspots, South Kalimantan from 22 to 73, and Jambi from zero to four, while Riau remained at zero.
Haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia has reportedly spread to Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak, as well as Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines, including Manila.
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Translator: Nabil Ihsan, Katriana
Editor: Arie Novarina
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