Indonesia has announced it will suspend receiving foreign aid to fight forest fires, as it has not declared the situation a national disaster. This is despite offers of assistance from Singapore and Malaysia. Meanwhile, the government has deployed 60,000 personnel to the affected areas to manage the situation.
On 20 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Indonesia continues to delay accepting foreign help to control forest and land fires spreading across multiple areas. Neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia have offered assistance, as the haze from these fires has affected many parts of the region for several weeks.
Dody Abdulkarman, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, stated that the government still has the capacity to handle the situation with internal resources. He explained that foreign aid can only be accepted if the situation is declared a national disaster and emphasized that receiving such aid poses technical challenges for field operations.
The Indonesian government reported having mobilized approximately 60,000 personnel to combat fires in six provinces. However, foreign assistance remains on hold pending clarity on the declaration of a national disaster status.
Lawrence Wong, Singapore's Prime Minister, said Singapore will continue working closely with Indonesia and ASEAN member countries to address cross-border haze problems. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed his country's readiness to assist Indonesia in firefighting efforts and proposed establishing an ASEAN cooperative mechanism to improve coordination, preparedness, and joint action against cross-border haze.