Indonesia approves foreign aid against regional wildfires

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has approved foreign assistance to fight forest and peatland fires, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said on Oct 15 at Jakarta's Parliament building. Nasir said the president had given his approval and that technical talks are under way at the BNPB. Malaysia offered an aircraft, three helicopters and 52 firefighters at a Sept 18 meeting with Prabowo in Hambalang. Singapore indicated readiness to assist; Minister Grace Fu cited ASEAN regional cooperation. As of Oct 13 Indonesia had deployed 60,177 personnel and was using aerial water-bombing and cloud-seeding. The fires, the worst in more than a decade and worsened by El Nino, are concentrated on Sumatra and Kalimantan; haze closed schools in Malaysia and East Timor and cancelled flights. The confirmation followed cautious remarks. Jumhur Hidayat said on Oct 13 the government must first curate offers so they fit. Honi Havana made similar comments on Oct 14. New BNPB chief Kristomei Sianturi said he would take stock of local and central assets, then identify international help to accelerate efforts. Nasir said Indonesia shared operational data under ASEAN's haze framework. Four firefighters died at Mount Bromo National Park, the Forestry Ministry said. No factual disputes appear in the rated coverage. BNPB's technical processing of which aid to take remains next.