A Japanese military transport ship carrying firefighting equipment and personnel docked on the island of Borneo on Thursday as part of a disaster relief mission. The operation aims to help Indonesia combat wildfires that are producing a toxic haze impacting people’s health in other countries.
Japan has deployed 300 crew members, the landing ship JS Kunisaki, and three CH-47 helicopters to Kalimantan on Borneo. This marks the first known overseas firefighting operation conducted by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
"To this end, we will learn from the Indonesian military’s operational experience and work in coordination and cooperation with them, striving to ensure that the Indonesian people can lead stable lives as soon as possible," said Col. Syunji Nakahara, the commander of the disaster relief activities, at a port in Mempawah district.
Indonesia has grappled with forest and land fires for decades, but an intensifying El Niño pattern this year and a prolonged dry season have exacerbated the situation. The toxic haze and smoke have drifted beyond Indonesia’s borders, affecting neighboring countries.
The smoke has reached the Philippines, over 800 kilometers away, and caused air quality to breach Malaysia’s emergency-level threshold, prompting authorities to declare an emergency last week in a town in Sarawak state on Borneo. Several areas on the island of Sumatra have also been affected, leading to the suspension of school activities for more than 1.4 million students across the country.
The JSDF’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters will begin firefighting operations on Borneo once preparations are complete. These efforts are intended to support Indonesian authorities in reaching areas inaccessible to ground teams and to prevent further damage.
Indonesian authorities have intensified firefighting efforts in multiple provinces, utilizing aircraft provided by various nations, including Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Ukraine. Between January and July, Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded over 202,000 hectares of burned land, an area nearly three times the size of Singapore.