Indonesia has asked the assistance of five “friendly countries” to solve forest fires and haze that have plagued the country and its neighbouring states for weeks. Australia, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore and China have agreed to provide assistance to the country to solve the issue.

The nature of the assistance that Australia as well as other countries will provide was not disclosed. However, Sunday Morning Herald reports that Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said that water bombing planes were among the forms of assistance needed.

The request for aid came a month after Indonesia rejected Singapore’s offer to help fight the fires by sending aircraft for cloud seeding. Indonesia had said that the country is well-equipped to handle the situation.

Forest fires from Sumatra and part of Borneo islands are caused by companies using fire to clear land for palm oil and pulp wood plantations, according to Reuters. On Thursday, Nasir said that there were about 110 fire spots. There were 11 in Riau, which, as of writing, remains ablaze, and there were also 12 fire spots in Kalimantan.

On Thursday, there were 28 fire spots. The number of places affected and the intensity of the blaze continue to increase due to the dry weather caused by El Nino in the Southeast Asian region.

The smoke has also spread to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand. High pollution levels were observed across the countries, which forced schools and some businesses to close for days. The haze has also affected the countries' tourism and has posted health threats.

Malaysia and Singapore have expressed their willingness to help Indonesia solve the problem. Thailand, meanwhile, proposed the inclusion of the ASEAN in solving the annual problem that Indonesia promises to solve.

According to Nasir, the haze issue is governed by the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze.

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