Singapore and Indonesia Agree on Joint Haze Task Force

Singapore and Indonesia agreed to establish a joint task force to coordinate information-sharing and cross-border inquiries into companies potentially linked to forest and land fires, the countries’ foreign ministers said after meeting in Jakarta on October 27. The plan also includes possible asset recovery, though the ministers did not announce when the body would begin work or how it would operate. Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said the task force would help the two governments exchange information and gather evidence across borders. He said Singapore had offered to share data on companies linked to the fires, and that recovering assets could be considered. Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the arrangement would help keep the countries’ responses coordinated. Singapore’s National Environment Agency said it had issued preventive notices to 10 companies in Indonesia: seven concerning fires in Sumatra and three in Kalimantan. The agency said the notices call for firefighting measures and support investigations into possible offenses. They do not establish that any company is liable for the fires. The agency also said it requested documents from...