Follow-Up: Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan Visits Indonesia on October 27 as Gas Cut of About 8% and Wildfire Haze Strain Ties
Indonesia's foreign ministry said Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit Indonesia on Tuesday, October 27, as relations between the neighbours are strained by persistent haze from Indonesia's wildfires and Jakarta's decision to cut gas supplies to the city-state. According to Reuters, 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"; he did not name any country. Singapore has yet to confirm the visit.
Singapore generates up to 95% of its electricity from natural gas, though the cut 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 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".
On the haze, Indonesia's forest fires this year are its most intense in 11 years. The fires have raged for months, driving up pollution and respiratory illness inside Indonesia, with thick haze also drifting into Singapore, Malaysia and East Timor. Singapore has not directly criticised the Indonesian government 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 by an Indonesian official who said 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," Shanmugam said. "The people suffering the most are Indonesians themselves."
Singapore's state investor Temasek and its sovereign wealth fund GIC were also on the defensive last week, rejecting allegations by a former Indonesian trade minister that they had pressured index provider MSCI to consider demoting Indonesia's equities to standalone market status; Indonesia's government has not commented on the allegation. Veteran Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan called the gas cuts an "attempt at intimidation" but said they would be ineffectual.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：从 Marina Bay 望向新加坡金融区天际线（资料图）。图片：Daniel Case 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: The Singapore financial district skyline seen from across Marina Bay (file photo). Credit: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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