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View all search resultsSingapore foreign minister heads to Jakarta amid tensions
Jakarta cut pipelined gas to Singapore by about 8 percent as of Saturday, saying it was safeguarding domestic supplies. The move came days after an energy minister threatened to review export contracts with countries "that are not cooperative and do not treat Indonesia with mutual respect".
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Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan gives a press conference after the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Royal Palace of El Pardo near Madrid on December 16, 2019.
(Agence France Presse/OSCAR DEL POZO )
I
ndonesia will host Singapore's top diplomat on Tuesday, 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 percent as of Saturday, saying it was safeguarding domestic supplies. The move came days after an energy minister threatened to review export contracts with countries "that are not cooperative and do not treat Indonesia with mutual respect".
He did not name 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 percent of its electricity from natural gas, and though the supply cut from Indonesia amounts to less than 2 percent of daily demand, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday that he expects contract signatories to "honour their commitments".
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 is one of Singapore's main sources of natural gas, providing it with 145.3 billion cubic feet in 2024, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.
President Prabowo Subianto last week berated "countries that like to insult" his nation over the haze crisis. He did not name specific countries.
Indonesia has for months struggled to contain fires that deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas said have consumed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September.
The haze has sent air pollution levels surging to dangerous levels not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia, Singapore and Timor Leste, prompting the ASEAN regional bloc to call a meeting over the crisis.
Singapore has promised legal action against companies responsible for the fires.
