SINGAPORE, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Indonesia accepted Singapore's offer Wednesday to help deal with the haze from months of intentional fires that have crippled the country, a Singapore government official said.
Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan announced on his Facebook page that his government's formal request for the names of the plantation companies that are suspected of clearing land by setting fires was accepted by Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
The two countries are now expected to work together to punish the companies responsible for a haze that has grown over Indonesia for months, choking people and livestock, and crippling the country.
Schools and some businesses have been closed. Farmers have lost crops. Aircraft are unable to fly in or out of airports. The smoke is now spreading to neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia.
"We also reiterated our haze assistance package, which includes assets, personnel, high-resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates," Balakrishnan said.
The offer includes the use of one C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations and two C-130s to transport a fire-fighting team from the Singapore Civil Defense Force.
A Chinook helicopter with a heli-bucket under-slung for fire fighting could also be provided if available, Balakrishnan said.
"Good for our countries to work together to resolve this as soon as possible," he said. "Singapore stands ready to assist Indonesia in its haze combating and fire-fighting efforts.
