by Rene L. Pattiradjawane 

Indonesia's foreign policy is often confusing when the country is supposed to act and conduct a diplomacy that is accurate and correct in putting in order its relations with Asean.

When China created some disorder with its agreement on the South China Sea with four Asean members (China, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia), Indonesia's Foreign Ministry kept silent and did not raise the issue of intervention in Asean's problems.

But when Singapore imposed its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act that was legislated by the Singapore Parliament in 2014, the Foreign Ministry reacted last week by stating its reservations with the law, saying that the law would create a loss in trade for both sides.

Intervention in foreign countries' laws are easily commented on as "causing a loss to Indonesian companies".

This intervention by Indonesia was done after Singapore's NEA (National Environment Agency) issued an arrest warrant for the director of an Indonesian company relating to the mitigation measures the company took over forest burning in Indonesia last year, which caused prolonged pollution and suffering to the people of Malaysia and Singapore.

Unilaterally, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told foresthints.news that Indonesia is looking at all plans and cooperation in the future related to environment and forestry with Singapore.

"Indonesia must reconsider the environmental diplomacy position it wants to take, and not be protective in the name of sovereignty, a reflection of its inability to cooperate to resolve forest logging."

In fact, a cooperation agreement related to forest burning and haze which was under way was suspended.

I feel that Indonesia does not have the means to carry out environmental diplomacy as a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and simply offers proposals and promises.

Indonesia was the first developing country that said it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 26 per cent in 2009 and will reach 41 per cent in 2020 with international assistance.

President Joko Widodo, at the COP21 (Conference of Parties) on Climate Change Summit in Paris, said that Indonesia is part of the solution that provides political support for the COP21.

First, we easily shelter behind "sovereignty" when there are sanctions or legal threats against business owners who carry out unscrupulous practices such as forest logging.

Second, environmental diplomacy is part of the overall process of mediation that unifies the diversity in actions and views of certain universal environmental norms and local environmental values. The issue of the environment has a transnational characteristic and it requires various solutions, norms and even joint schemes to overcome it, including with Singapore.

In this context, we must transcend the issue of "sovereignty" because the issue of environment, especially related to forest logging that causes prolonged haze, must be immediately and comprehensively tackled. This includes imposing of sanctions on errant companies.

Indonesia must reconsider the environmental diplomacy position it wants to take, and not be protective in the name of sovereignty, a reflection of its inability to cooperate to resolve forest logging. Singapore's NEA issued a reminder to six companies. It is about time the companies are examined too in Indonesia.

Indonesia's environmental diplomacy strategy must be capable of balancing a variety of dynamic interests in the Asean environment. There are many environmental issues that need to be resolved so that there is political support for President Joko on the reduction of global carbon emissions.

•This article first appeared in the Indonesian newspaper Kompas.