Malaysia Seeks Stronger ASEAN Action on Cross-Border Haze Crisis
(MENAFN) Malaysia will raise the escalating transboundary haze crisis at an upcoming ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting, calling for stronger regional measures to address pollution caused by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Monday.
The issue is expected to be discussed ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Manila next month, according to reports.
Mohamad said existing ASEAN disaster management frameworks were insufficient to address cross-border haze pollution.
“We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster,” he told reporters in Sepang.
Indonesia has deployed approximately 60,000 personnel to combat the fires, but dense smoke has significantly disrupted aerial firefighting operations, Mohamad said.
He added that Indonesian officials had informed him that 34 airplanes and 34 helicopters were unable to operate because of poor visibility.
Efforts to control the fires have also faced difficulties due to the remote locations of affected areas, inadequate water supplies and persistent underground peat fires.
Mohamad said cloud-seeding operations could not currently proceed because suitable rain-bearing clouds were unavailable.
While acknowledging Indonesia’s efforts to contain the fires, he called for more effective measures, highlighting the consequences of the haze for communities in Malaysia.
The issue is expected to be discussed ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Manila next month, according to reports.
Mohamad said existing ASEAN disaster management frameworks were insufficient to address cross-border haze pollution.
“We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster,” he told reporters in Sepang.
Indonesia has deployed approximately 60,000 personnel to combat the fires, but dense smoke has significantly disrupted aerial firefighting operations, Mohamad said.
He added that Indonesian officials had informed him that 34 airplanes and 34 helicopters were unable to operate because of poor visibility.
Efforts to control the fires have also faced difficulties due to the remote locations of affected areas, inadequate water supplies and persistent underground peat fires.
Mohamad said cloud-seeding operations could not currently proceed because suitable rain-bearing clouds were unavailable.
While acknowledging Indonesia’s efforts to contain the fires, he called for more effective measures, highlighting the consequences of the haze for communities in Malaysia.
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