Japan Sends Military Ship and Helicopters to Borneo to Battle Indonesia's Wildfires
Japan has deployed 300 personnel, a landing ship and three Chinook helicopters to Indonesian Borneo to help fight wildfires whose toxic haze has spread across Southeast Asia.
A Japanese military transport vessel docked on the island of Borneo on Thursday, opening a disaster relief mission to help Indonesia combat wildfires whose toxic haze has drifted across Southeast Asian borders.
Japan has sent 300 crew members, the landing ship JS Kunisaki and three CH-47 helicopters to Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo. The deployment marks the first known overseas firefighting operation conducted by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
Speaking at a port in Mempawah district, Col. Syunji Nakahara, commander of the disaster relief activities, said the mission would draw on the Indonesian military's operational experience and proceed in coordination with local forces, with the aim of helping Indonesians return to stable lives as quickly as possible.
The helicopters are expected to begin firefighting flights on Borneo once preparations are complete, according to a JSDF statement, which added that the operation is intended to support affected communities and prevent further damage. The aircraft are expected to reach areas that ground teams have struggled to access.
Indonesia has battled forest and land fires for decades, but an intensifying El Niño pattern and a prolonged dry season have worsened conditions this year. The resulting smoke has travelled far beyond Indonesia's borders, reaching the Philippines more than 800 kilometres away and breaching Malaysia's emergency-level threshold, prompting authorities to declare an emergency last week in a town in Sarawak state on Borneo.
Air pollution has also affected parts of Sumatra, forcing schools to suspend classroom learning. More than 1.4 million students nationwide have been affected by the haze.
Indonesian authorities have stepped up firefighting efforts across several provinces, deploying aircraft provided by Southeast Asian nations and countries including Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada and Ukraine. The Forestry Ministry recorded more than 202,000 hectares of burned land between January and July, an area nearly three times the size of Singapore.
The relief mission comes as Japan and Indonesia have been deepening military cooperation, with the two sides discussing a possible Japanese sale of used destroyers.