Japan answers fire aid call as haze smothers region
Japan is set to deploy three helicopters to help Indonesia battle forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan at Jakarta’s request, as smoke from the blazes spread across Southeast Asia and pressure mounts on the government to accept more international assistance.
Japan is set to deploy three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Indonesia to assist in battling forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan, following a request from Jakarta. The Japanese helicopters, each capable of carrying up to 5,000 liters of water, are expected to begin water-bombing operations next Thursday. This assistance falls under the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) framework of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) signed between Indonesia and Japan in May.
Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin stated that the aid is being provided due to the "defense cooperation" principle, where a friend steps in to help when needed. An advance team from Japan has already arrived in Indonesia to coordinate with the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the forest and land fire task force ahead of the helicopters' deployment.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
