Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan: Singapore has full confidence in the future of Indonesia, our futures are intertwined
SINGAPORE: On his visit to Jakarta on Tuesday (Oct 27), Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan emphasised the deep ties between Singapore and Indonesia.
At the joint press conference after their conversation on a number of topics, including the current haze problem, he addressed Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir as “Pak Tata,” opening his speech with “Thank you, terima kasih, my brother.
“I would like to emphasise that Singapore has full confidence in the future of Indonesia. We want Indonesia to succeed, and we want this because our futures are intertwined. Singapore’s success also depends on a prosperous, stable, peaceful Indonesia. Indonesia is a key pillar for the neighbourhood, for ASEAN, and indeed, for the world,” added Dr Balakrishnan.
This visit with his counterpart has indeed been timely, given the background of not only the transboundary haze issue but also Indonesia’s recent gas export reductions. Tensions have simmered as well due to inflammatory remarks from a former Indonesian Trade Minister.
The meeting between the two Foreign Ministers should help ease some of these tensions, especially after the agreement to form a joint task force to probe the companies linked to the forest and peat wood fires causing the haze.
Dr Balakrishnan agreed with Mr Arrmanatha that the primary victims of the haze are the residents of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and said that Singapore stands in solidarity with Indonesia.
However, while this year’s El Niño may be a natural phenomenon, haze is not, as the fires are caused by human activity, he added.
After Mr Arrmanatha proposed the establishment of the joint task force, Dr Balakrishnan said, “Singapore agrees, and we are in effect putting all the companies on notice that the Joint Task Force will ensure that there is a very close coordination of actions and sharing of information between Indonesia and Singapore, and we expect, therefore, the deterrent impact of this Joint Task Force to make a difference.”
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He reiterated what Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister K Shanmugam have said, that Singapore will exercise all the legal and regulatory powers at hand, as well as even more legal, regulatory, and economic measures to deter future violations by companies.
In this, Singapore will work closely with Indonesia, he added. /TISG