Transcript of Wrap-Up Interview with Singapore Media by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 28 October 2026

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Thank you all for being here. I think the last few weeks with the haze in Singapore has been a period of concern, anxiety, anger. It has been a difficult time for many families back in Singapore. I completely understand that, and we had to respond, no doubt about that. I made this visit basically for three reasons.

First, we need to make sure that when things happen, especially transboundary events, there’s a need for high-level direct communication between governments. You can’t conduct diplomacy just by the phone or through the media, with all due respect. There’s face-to-face direct explanation, conveying concerns, and also looking for solutions. That’s the first point.

The second point is that when you’re dealing with issues like this, because it affects people on the ground, particularly in the case of the haze, both in Indonesia and in Singapore, politics does get involved. But it is essential in times like this to keep looking out for cooperative, collaborative, constructive solutions, and that’s really what occupied the bandwidth on this trip.

I think there’s a third lesson for us in Singapore to draw from this episode, which is the importance of being prepared. Being prepared, in fact, requires planning, requires execution, way before a crisis emerges. And I want to thank all the people on the Haze Task Force, the volunteers, the people who have been working on the ground, the community volunteers distributing masks, making a difference, family by family, precinct by precinct, to make sure that nobody gets left behind, nobody faces a crisis alone. Being prepared also means, in the case of Singapore, always taking a long-term approach, enhancing our resilience, and resilience includes things like making sure we’ve got multiple sources of supplies, diversified supplies, making sure we also have storage reserves – you would have heard Minister [for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry)] Tan See Leng’s announcement that we’re exploring with Saudi Arabia on having crude oil stored in Jurong Rock Caverns.

It’s also the reason why you would have noticed the Prime Minister [Lawrence Wong], and in fact the other Ministers and I, have been travelling extensively over the last six months to a year. If you look carefully at our travelling, you would recognise that there is a pattern. The pattern is about securing essential supplies to keep Singapore going, whatever happens. So this habit of being prepared, making preparations way in advance, and also by having diversified sources of energy and essential supplies, also enables us – when the time comes – to cope calmly, comprehensively, and confidently. So that’s where we’re at.

More specifically, for this visit, I’m glad to say we were able to engage at the highest level. We had good conversations, honest conversations, sincere conversations, and we’ve come up with a few constructive approaches, some of which we are in the midst of implementing. So, for instance, you would have heard our announcement yesterday on the Joint Task Force, and that is a recognition that, in the case of haze, it is a transboundary problem, and it requires a collegiate, collective response on the part of both Indonesia and Singapore. And the point of the Task Force is to facilitate this collective response, exchange of information, and synergy, so that we can deter the companies who are engaging in such anti-social and, quite frankly, dangerous acts. We can also hold them accountable, and we can try our best to make sure that this does not recur. The problem of haze in Southeast Asia has unfortunately been one which is almost three decades long now. That’s far too long, and we do need to find solutions. And in the case of Singapore, we are also exploring enhancing our legislative and policy tools to keep companies accountable and to make sure that everyone does what they need to do. I’ll be happy to take questions.

Mohammad Hariz Bin Baharudin (Straits Times): Hi Minister, Hariz from Straits Times. Minister, you know, recent developments have pointed out, including the gas export cuts and disagreements over certain other exports, have raised questions of the relationship between Singapore and Indonesia. And you have said the haze issue has also come up again. How would you characterise the state of bilateral ties today, and what needs to be done to ensure this issue does not affect the relationship? Also, understand you’ve met [Indonesian] President Prabowo [Subianto] earlier today. Could you give us a bit more detail about how that meeting went?

Minister: Well, I think the point I want to emphasise is that Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, our immediate neighbours, our permanent neighbours, we will always be interdependent. And it also means we will also face common threats and challenges. The haze is one example. Pandemics, another example. And there will be other similar challenges in the future.

Second point is that when problems like this arise, there are bound to be differences in priority, differences in approach, and sometimes, quite frankly, even political and polemic issues. But precisely at a moment like this, it’s important for cool heads to prevail, for direct, honest, candid, constructive conversations to be had, and for us to look for a collective approach. In this case, deterring, identifying, and making sure that, to the maximum extent, we lower the probability of such an event recurring. And as I said, in the case of haze, three decades is far too long. So, we need to look at this with some equanimity. Differences are to be expected, even polemic statements sometimes, from time to time. But the Singapore way is to be prepared, to be constructive, and to be quietly confident. And I think we will get through this again, in our usual Singapore way. I’m confident of that.

ST: Your meeting with President Prabowo?

Minister: I’m not at liberty to discuss the details, but just let me give you the assurance that communication has occurred at the highest level between my Prime Minister and with President Prabowo. It sets the political commitment on both sides to do what is necessary, and now we will have to implement those plans, execute that commitment.

Saifulbahri Bin Ismail (CNA TV): Saiful from CNA TV. Hi. Good to see you again. What consensus have Singapore and Indonesia come to with regard to contractual obligations for the gas cuts, and how can both countries move forward?

Minister: Well, let me just emphasise what Minister Tan See Leng has said, and in fact, has emphasised over the last few days. One, we have prepared LNG [liquefied natural gas] terminals, we have diversified sources, so actually we confront this situation from a position of strength. And I thank METI [Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry], under the leadership of both DPM Gan [Kim Yong] and Minister Tan, for bringing us to this situation.

The second point I would make is that if you carefully parse the statements which have been made by Prime Minister Wong, Minister Tan, as well as the Indonesian Ministers, you will realise, in fact, there is a common commitment to the sanctity of contract, and that’s good. So all sides understand that there is a reason why signatures and contractual obligations matter, and it goes beyond the individual subject. It goes to the credibility and the competitiveness of the economies on both sides. So I am cheered by that. Look at actions, not just at words, and I am glad to say, generally, at least my experience after all these decades, is that in our neighbourhood we go by contracts. Contracts mean something, and the sanctity of contract is upheld. That’s important.

CNA TV: I know Singapore and Indonesia yesterday agreed to form the [Joint] Task Force on haze.

Minister: Yes, that’s right.

CNA TV: Can you share more details about it?

Minister: I’m not yet in a position to give you details about the composition and the staffing of the Task Force, but the terms of reference: to deal with this issue, exchange information, to facilitate each authority’s work in our respective jurisdictions. Those are the key elements. And given the commitment at the senior level for both countries, we will get this done quickly, promptly, and effectively.

Helmy bin Sa’at (AsiaOne): So much has happened in the past few months, right?

Minister: Yes.

AsiaOne: How has the spirit of looking out for each other in Singapore and Indonesia changed, and looking ahead, how can Singapore strengthen ties with Indonesia? Because, you know, Singapore will be chairing ASEAN next year.

Minister: I will answer that at several levels. Let’s first deal with Singapore. This has been yet another collective challenge that Singaporeans have faced. And haze, you know, affects everybody. And again, that spirit of looking out for one another, looking out especially for people who are most vulnerable, making sure there are masks and supplies, and that nobody is alone. I believe that at the community level within Singapore, we have passed that test again. This is not a matter of government and task forces. This is at the community, people level. I’m pleased with that.

Next, if you look in terms of the plans of the Government for contingencies, I mean, it’s not over yet, so it’s too early to conclude. But I would say so far, distribution of supplies, communication, coordination between ministries, I think, has been effective. So that’s within Singapore.

Coming here and discussing with my colleagues, you know, actually they have observed, and it is accurate, that the front-line victims, the people most exposed to the ill effects of toxic haze, are actually here (Indonesia). And that’s why this is also a domestic issue here. And governments everywhere have to respond to domestic concerns. What I think has been positive is that, again, at the most senior level, we’ve been able to maintain good, candid, open lines of communication. We’ve been able to formulate plans, and we’re able to work together. So you add all this up. You have to be prepared and strong domestically. You also have and want to be a good neighbour.

All these are the ingredients also for ASEAN. And next year when we chair ASEAN, we try to deepen the integration within ASEAN and also try to strengthen our partnerships – can you see again the consistent pattern? It is building resilience, starting with your home base, and then expanding it to our immediate neighbourhood, and then also expanding resilience by building partnerships across the globe, particularly for essential supplies. So again, I’m giving you examples where, in fact, there is a pattern, there is a method, to what we’ve been doing. And given the state of the world, I think this has become even more urgent, more essential. So we have our work cut out for us next year and beyond.

Elisa Valenta (The Business Times): As you know, the governments across Southeast Asia are placing greater focus on domestic energy security and local resources development. How can Singapore adapt to this rise in resource nationalism while protecting its interests as a trade and energy hub?

Minister: Yes, that’s a good question. And again, let me unpack the answer to the question. First of all, it is a responsibility of every government to ensure that essential supplies, including energy, is available to your own people and to your economy. That is a domestic and primary responsibility of all governments. So I am not particularly fond of the word “resource nationalism”, because to me, you have to look after your own people, fair enough.

Second point, when you’re trying to look after the interests of your own people and your own economy, in fact, there is value from working together. And when we have these cross-border contracts, actually what these contracts represent is the cross-border mobilisation of finance in order to encourage the further expansion of infrastructure, in this case, energy infrastructure. You achieve economies of scale, and you are usually able to bring down the unit cost of producing energy or other essentials. So my point is, working together and looking after your own needs, it’s not “either or”. It’s not a binary. It’s a false dichotomy to make it an “either or” dilemma. It’s not, and that’s why our agenda in ASEAN, whether it’s the ASEAN Power Grid or to mobilise capital for investment in energy infrastructure, is correct, both at a national level, at a regional level, and at an international level.

And don’t forget, the other point is we’re also living in a new revolution, the digital AI revolution, the explosive growth of data centres – all these need more energy. So, whatever it is, to me, the path of least regret is to continue investing, continue partnerships, continue making contingency plans, and to expand the scale of our national and regional infrastructure. This is how you prime your country to be ready for the opportunities, as well as to be ready for the contingencies, which will occur from time to time. So I take a broader view of this, and my main point is don’t make it an “either or” situation. That’s not the right way to look at this.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

28 OCTOBER 2026