Singapore foreign minister meets RI counterpart amid haze, gas row
The Jakarta meeting came as Indonesia cut pipeline gas shipments by about 8% and Singapore prepared legal steps over the haze.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir at the Foreign Ministry office in Jakarta on Tuesday (27/10), as ties between the two countries grew strained over haze and gas supplies. The visit came after Indonesia cut pipeline gas flow to Singapore by around 8 percent starting Saturday to secure domestic needs. SKK Migas said part of the supply from Natuna was diverted to PLN Batam through the WNTS-Pulau Pemping-Batam pipeline at 15 million standard cubic feet. At the same time, Singapore and Malaysia pressed Indonesia over its worst forest and land fires in 11 years. Singapore is also considering stronger cross-border haze rules and last week released an investigation naming 10 companies in Indonesia linked to the fires.