ASEAN to discuss tackling transboundary haze ahead of November summit

MANILA/KUALA LUMPUR, Oct ‌12 (Reuters) - Southeast ​Asian ​foreign ministers will during a meeting next month seek to tackle the transboundary haze ‌blanketing parts of the region, ASEAN chair ⁠the Philippines said on Tuesday.

• Forest and land fires that ‌have raged for months ‌in Indonesia have in recent weeks caused thick haze in Singapore and in Malaysia, which closed schools ​in several states last week after air pollution hit unhealthy levels

• The wildfires, mainly on ⁠the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are Indonesia's most intense in ​11 years

• "It's in the agenda," Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said ​on Tuesday, referring to the ‌preparatory foreign ministers' meetings in November ahead of the summit of the Association ⁠of Southeast Asian Nations

• Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Monday said he would raise the haze ⁠issue with ASEAN, noting that the bloc's existing mechanisms to deal ​with natural disasters did not include haze

• Malaysia has previously offered assistance to Indonesia to combat fires

• Firefighting attempts ‌in many areas were complicated by poor visibility, accessibility issues and a lack ‌of suitable conditions for cloud seeding, Mohamad said, ⁠citing discussions with ‌his Indonesian counterpart

(Reporting ​by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur and Mikhail Flores in Manila; Editing by Martin ‌Petty)

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