Singapore seeks to ease tensions as Balakrishnan meets Prabowo

Singapore requested the meeting

Prabowo received Balakrishnan at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor regency, West Java. In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the Presidential Secretariat said Singapore had requested the meeting. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya confirmed the arrangement, but no details of the discussions were disclosed.

The meeting came on the second day of Balakrishnan's Jakarta visit, during which he was scheduled to meet several Indonesian officials in an effort to ease tensions. An expert cited by The Jakarta Post said the encounter could help calm the dispute and strengthen Indonesia's position before transboundary haze talks at the ASEAN summit.

Haze dispute alongside cooperation

Smoke from forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra has worsened Singapore's air quality in recent weeks, fueling public frustration. Calls in Singapore for Indonesia to contain the fires have included demands that it accept Singapore's offer of firefighting assistance.

Indonesian officials have expressed displeasure, with Prabowo accusing unspecified countries of trying to insult Indonesia. Despite the friction, the two governments agreed on Oct. 27 to work more closely against illegal land burning that has contributed to haze across Southeast Asian cities, according to Associated Press reporting carried by The Washington Post.

That cooperation builds on an environmental agreement signed in June 2026 covering transboundary pollution, The Straits Times reported. The countries have also been discussing longer-term measures, including greater sharing of early-warning information and Singapore's support for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control, hosted in Indonesia.

Gas cuts and competing contract positions

The dispute intensified last Friday when Indonesia announced a natural gas export cut affecting Singapore alone. A day earlier, Coordinating Downstream and Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia had said Indonesia would review contracts with countries that did not "show respect" to it.

The reduction began on Oct. 24, according to The Business Times. Indonesia cut pipeline deliveries by 31 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD), almost 8 percent of the 409.55 BBTUD it exports to Singapore through pipelines from the Natuna Sea and Sumatra.

Of the reduction, 15 BBTUD came from Natuna and was redirected to state utility PLN in Batam; the remaining 16 BBTUD came from Sumatra. The cut applied only to Singapore because the pipelines involved connect directly to the city-state.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Oct. 25 that the supplies were governed by commercial contracts and that all parties were expected to meet their commitments. He also said Singapore's gas importer would take the steps needed to safeguard its rights and interests.

Bahlil said on Oct. 26 that the reduced deliveries still met the contract's minimum export requirement of around 91 to 92 BBTUD and therefore did not violate the agreement. Indonesia would continue assessing whether to make the reduction permanent, he added.

Singapore's Energy Market Authority put the cut at less than 2 percent of the country's total daily gas demand. Energy Minister Tan See Leng said on Oct. 25 that Singapore had enough replacement supplies from other sources, including liquefied natural gas.