Singapore foreign minister heads to Indonesia as gas cut and haze strain ties

Indonesia will host Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday, its foreign ministry said, as tensions simmer between the two neighbours over a cut in piped-gas supplies and haze from Indonesia's wildfires. Singapore has yet to confirm the visit.

The gas cut

Jakarta cut pipelined gas to Singapore by about 8% as of Saturday, saying it was safeguarding domestic supplies. Indonesia's energy minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, had earlier threatened to review export contracts with countries he described as not cooperative and not treating Indonesia with mutual respect, without naming them.

Singapore generates up to 95% of its electricity from natural gas, though the cut amounts to less than 2% of its daily demand. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday that he expects contract signatories to honour their commitments; Bahlil hit back on Monday, saying the amount now supplied meets the minimum level stipulated under the agreement.

The haze

Indonesia's fires have raged for months in the country's most intense forest-fire season in 11 years, driving up pollution and respiratory illness and drifting haze into Singapore, Malaysia and East Timor. Singapore has not directly criticised the Indonesian government and has offered assistance, but it has sent notices to Indonesian companies it says are responsible for the blazes.

The ministerial visit is the newest development since the gas cut, which this site has already covered along with Wong's remarks on honouring contracts. Whether it eases tensions will depend on what the two sides say after the meeting.