ASEAN to tackle transboundary haze from forest fires in Indonesia

MANILA/KUALA LUMPUR - Southeast Asian foreign ministers will during a meeting next month seek to tackle the transboundary haze blanketing parts of the region, ASEAN chair the Philippines said on Tuesday.

Forest and land fires that have raged for months in Indonesia have in recent weeks caused thick haze in Singapore and in Malaysia, which closed schools in several states last week after air pollution hit unhealthy levels.

The wildfires, mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are Indonesia's most intense in 11 years.

"It's in the agenda," Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said on Tuesday, referring to the preparatory foreign ministers' meetings in November ahead of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Monday said he would raise the haze issue with ASEAN, noting that the bloc's existing mechanisms to deal with natural disasters did not include haze.

Malaysia has previously offered assistance to Indonesia to combat fires.

Firefighting attempts in many areas were complicated by poor visibility, accessibility issues and a lack of suitable conditions for cloud seeding, Mohamad said, citing discussions with his Indonesian counterpart.

- Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur and Mikhail Flores in Manila; Editing by Martin Petty/Reuters