Key facts
- Wildfires have consumed over 1.9 million hectares in nine months to September.
- Haze has caused dangerous air pollution levels in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Timor-Leste.
- ASEAN has called a meeting to address the crisis.
- Prabowo vowed to revoke licenses of companies violating the law.
Indonesian President Prabowo warned countries that "like to insult" his nation over wildfires that have razed vast areas and spewed toxic haze into neighboring countries. The fires have consumed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September, sending air pollution levels to dangerous levels in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Timor-Leste, prompting ASEAN to call a meeting. Prabowo vowed to reveal corporations responsible for the fires, which he insisted were not purely natural and called "environmental terrorism." He has asked for investigations into the cause of the blazes, which experts attribute in part to slash-and-burn land-clearing practices intensified by drought. The president stated that deliberate fire-setting amounts to "a crime against humanity" and vowed to revoke licenses of companies found to be in violation of the law.