Indonesia will host Singapore’s top diplomat, its foreign ministry said, as tensions simmer between the two neighbours over persistent haze from Indonesia’s wildfires and Jakarta’s decision to cut gas supplies to the city-state.
Jakarta cut pipelined gas to Singapore by about 8% as of Saturday, saying it was safeguarding domestic supplies.
The move came days after Indonesia’s energy minister threatened to review export contracts with countries “that are not cooperative and do not treat Indonesia with mutual respect” without naming the countries.
The visit by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, which Singapore has yet to confirm, comes as frustration builds in the city-state and neighbouring Malaysia over transboundary haze from Indonesia’s most intense forest fires in 11 years.
Singapore generates up to 95% of its electricity from natural gas, and though the supply cut from Indonesia amounts to less than 2% of daily demand, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday that he expects contract signatories to “honour their commitments”.
Indonesia’s energy minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, hit back on Monday, saying the amount of gas now being supplied to Singapore met the minimum level stipulated under their agreement.
“Our nation is a nation that honours contracts, rules. So don’t teach Indonesia on how to honour contracts,” Bahlil told a press conference, where he outlined details of gas exports to “so-called brothers and sisters”.
Indonesia’s fires have raged for months and driven up pollution and respiratory illness across the country, with thick haze also drifting into Singapore, Malaysia and Timor-Leste.
Singapore has not directly criticised the Indonesian government over the haze and has offered assistance, but it has sent notices to Indonesian companies it says are responsible for the blazes.
Singapore Senior Minister K. Shanmugam expressed disappointment last week over remarks made about the haze by an Indonesian official, who said that Indonesia’s forests provided Singapore and Malaysia with oxygen.
“Frankly, it is not right to say this when this entire region is suffering as a result of the bad behaviour of companies breaching regulations,” he said. “The people suffering the most are Indonesians themselves.” — Reuters
