Indonesia generates smoke, ASEAN merely suffers
Southeast Asia has mastered moving capital across borders. Now it must stop letting corporate responsibility stall at customs while millions breathe transboundary haze.
Indonesia's peat and forest fires produce transboundary haze that severely impacts neighboring Southeast Asian nations, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. The smoke veils the region, forcing them to endure unhealthy air quality conditions during events like the Formula 1 race in Singapore. Despite the sophisticated engineering and entertainment surrounding the sporting spectacle, the haze's presence highlights the region's persistent environmental governance failures.
The wind carries the haze across borders but lacks the attributes of a corporate entity, such as shareholders, board members, or headquarters. Singapore and Malaysia rightly condemn the pollution but face the frustrating reality that Indonesia generates the smoke while their neighbors only suffer. The narrative often overlooks the complex political economy of Southeast Asia, where Indonesia's environmental negligence exacerbates the transboundary haze problem.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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