Indonesia says Asean diplomacy ‘must not stop’ despite Singapore row

A senior Indonesian diplomat said on Wednesday that dialogue “must not stop” among Asean members, amid a diplomatic row between Jakarta and Singapore over transboundary haze.

Ties between the Southeast Asian neighbours have been tense after wildfires in Indonesia blanketed the city state in toxic smog for months. Complaints from Singapore over the air quality were met with sharp rebukes from Indonesian officials.

Despite a visit to Jakarta by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan last week, tensions continue to simmer, casting a shadow over coming Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Manila.

Asked whether the regional bloc remained united despite the dispute, Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, director general for Asean cooperation at Indonesia’s foreign ministry, said diplomacy was a continuous process.

“Diplomacy is something easy to say, but it requires non-stop dialogue. Minds can be different. Take a look at the various [economic conditions] of the 11 Asean nations. Some are less developed; others are emerging and developing,” Ina was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe.

“Diplomacy must not stop. Our domestic policies may differ, but we still have to push for diplomacy.”

During Balakrishnan’s visit, both governments agreed to set up a joint task force to track financial flows linked to companies responsible for the forest fires.

“It sets the political commitment on both sides to do what is necessary. Now we will have to implement those plans [and] execute those commitments,” Balakrishnan said.

Indonesian politicians, however, continue to target the city state.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia – who announced an 8 per cent reduction in piped natural ‌gas supplies to ‌Singapore effective October 24 – accused the city state of re-exporting Indonesian gas, The Straits Times reported.

Singapore’s Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry rejected the claim on October 30, clarifying that “piped natural gas imported from Indonesia is for domestic use, and not for export”.

On Monday, Bahlil said Jakarta would not export electricity to Singapore without a pricing agreement on Indonesian terms. “As long as the price is right, follow our prices, that is possible. But if the price is not right, we will prioritise domestic needs,” he told state news agency Antara.

Adding to the tensions, former trade minister Muhammad Lutfi accused Singaporean state investors Temasek and sovereign wealth fund GIC of lobbying global index provider MSCI to downgrade Indonesian equities to “stand-alone” status. Both Temasek and GIC have strongly rejected the accusation, while Jeffrey Hendrik, a director at the Indonesia Stock Exchange, also dismissed the claims.

Analysts say the nationalistic rhetoric is likely driven by domestic pressures facing Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo’s administration is grappling with public scrutiny over his flagship free school meals initiative, which has been hit by food poisoning ‌outbreaks and corruption allegations, alongside public frustration over forest fires and the threat of an MSCI downgrade. His approval rating fell from 81.2 per cent late last year to 44.5 per cent last month, according to Reuters.

Yohanes Sulaiman, an associate professor of international relations at Indonesia’s Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, said that the administration had frequently redirected blame outwards.

Singapore, with its ethnic Chinese majority, was an easy target, Yohanes told Reuters. “The intensity ⁠is pushed to 11 under this administration,” he said.

Other experts believe the Jakarta-Singapore rift is not permanent and unlikely to affect Asean relations.

“Indonesia and Singapore’s relationship is complementary, not competitive,” said Suryo Pratomo, a former Indonesian ‌ambassador to Singapore, noting that the city state was Indonesia’s largest source of foreign direct investment last year at US$17.4 billion.

Indonesian political scientist Dewi Fortuna Anwar dismissed the diplomatic dispute as a “storm in a teacup”.

Indonesia’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir affirmed that foundation during his bilateral meeting with Balakrishnan on October 27, according to weekly news magazine Tempo.

“Indonesia fully supports Singapore’s Asean chairmanship in 2027,” Arrmanatha said, “and we look forward to keeping Asean united, central and resilient”.