Jakarta's assurances sought on fighting haze-causing fires

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has expressed its deep concern on the recurring haze situation in the region and sought Indonesia's assurances to address land and forest fires in the republic.

In a statement issued at the conclusion of the 14th Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) here, Kuala Lumpur said it was ready to provide technical support in the form of manpower and equipment to help Indonesia tackle the problem.

"We welcomed Indonesia's ongoing efforts to address land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and bring the perpetrators to justice," said the Foreign Ministry statement.

The meeting was co-chaired by Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Indonesian counterpart Retno L.P. Marsudi.

The statement noted that Malaysia had dispatched a Bombadier amphibious aircraft to assist in water bombing operations in southern Sumatra.

It was reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo had contacted the Malaysian, Singaporean, Russian and Japanese governments for help to fight fires especially in peatland areas, which are difficult to put out completely.

The president said the kind of assistance needed were aircraft that could carry huge amounts of water.

On another matter, the statement said the foreign ministers remained committed to resolving outstanding maritime boundaries delimitation and land boundary demarcation.

They acknowledged the progress made by the Technical Committee on the delimitation of maritime boundries and the Joint Land Boundary Committee.

Both ministers also discussed issues related to Indonesian workers in the formal sector and domestic workers.

They noted that the Working Group Meeting on Recruitment of Indonesian Workers as well as the 11th Joint Working Group Meeting on Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Domestic Workers would be held back-to-back in Jakarta on Oct 15 and 16.

The meetings will discuss Malaysia's proposal for what is called the Government-to-Government Plus mechanism, the statement said.

Both sides exchanged views on matters such as Asean, South China Sea, Indian Ocean Rim Association and irregular migration into Southeast Asia. - Bernama