Jakarta. Singapore’s top diplomat Vivian Balakrishnan said Wednesday that polemic remarks were expected to happen amid the city-state’s diplomatic row with Indonesia, as the neighbor seeks to stay calm.

Balakrishnan spent the past two days in Jakarta for a string of diplomatic talks to soothe tensions. What started as a transboundary haze coming from Indonesian wildfires has now spiraled into other issues, ranging from natural gas export cuts to calls for Umrah pilgrims to avoid Singapore stopovers. Indonesian government officials, including an ex-minister, have also taken a swipe at the neighbor, even introducing surprise moves. 

To Singapore’s press, Balakrishnan said that his country and Indonesia would always be “interdependent” as immediate neighbors. And this proximity means facing common challenges.

“When problems like this arise, there are bound to be differences in priority [and] approach. Sometimes, quite frankly, even political and polemic issues,” Balakrishnan explained, not long after meeting President Prabowo Subianto.

“But precisely at a moment like this, it’s important for cool heads to prevail, for direct, honest, candid, constructive conversations to be had, and for us to look for a collective approach.”

He called on both countries to try their utmost best to prevent such events from recurring. Addressing the haze problem — which had gone on for “far too long” — also calls for “some equanimity”.

“Differences are to be expected, even polemic statements sometimes, from time to time. But the Singapore way is to be prepared, to be constructive, and to be quietly confident,” Balakrishnan said, while adding that he was upbeat that the country would “get through this again”.

The Indonesian government had been framing his Jakarta trip as being “sudden”, and that the neighbor was the one that requested the Prabowo-Balakrishnan meeting. 

The government has yet to disclose the details of their talks. Balakrishnan, too, chose to stay tight-lipped. But a day earlier, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir claimed that both governments were able to speak “candidly” to iron out their differences. They have also agreed to form a joint task force on haze to share financial intelligence to catch the companies responsible for the wildfires.

Balakrishnan’s statement also followed the passive aggressive remarks by Indonesian officials. 

As a case in point, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that the natural gas export reductions — which amount to 31 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD) — still fell within the allowable limit in the contract. However, Bahlil at the same time indirectly called on Singapore “not to lecture Indonesia about honoring contracts”. 

Deputy Hajj Minister Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak unexpectedly called on Indonesian Umrah pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia to avoid transiting via Singapore, adding another friction. He said that taking direct flights — especially by flying Indonesian airliners — would be a better boon for the national aviation industry. 

Ex-Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi also accused Singapore of being behind MSCI’s proposed downgrade that had caused Indonesian stocks to drop sharply. His statement fueled anti-Singapore sentiment among Indonesian social media users.

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