KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Southeast Asian foreign ministers will discuss how to tackle haze blanketing parts of the region ahead of the ASEAN bloc’s summit next month, Malaysia’s top diplomat said on Monday.
• Forest and land fires that have raged for months in Indonesia have in recent weeks caused thick haze in Singapore and in Malaysia, which closed schools in several states last week after air pollution levels hit unhealthy levels
• The wildfires, mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are Indonesia’s most intense in 11 years
• While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has existing mechanisms to deal with natural disasters such as floods or volcano eruptions, haze is not included in those, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters
• “So this is one of the issues that I will personally bring in a meeting with my counterparts, ahead of the 49th summit in Manila next month,” he said, according to his office
• ASEAN chair the Philippines did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that the haze issue would be on the agenda
• Malaysia has previously offered assistance to Indonesia to combat fires
• Fire-fighting attempts in many areas were complicated by poor visibility, accessibility issues and a lack of suitable conditions for cloud seeding, Mohamad said, citing discussions with Indonesia’s foreign minister
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Additional reporting by Mikhail Flores in Manila; Editing by Martin Petty)
