Haze affects Indonesia, Thailand's joint exercise

INDONESIA, June 25 (TNA) - A heavy haze has reportedly affected this year's 12-day joint exercise between the Thai and Indonesian air forces, codenamed "Elang Thainesia XVI", taking place at the Indonesian Air Force’s Pekanbaru airbase on the Sumatra Island from June 24-July 5. As the haze, triggered by forest fires on the Sumatra Island, has remained at a hazardous level, the first session of the "Elang Thainesia XVI" exercise was postponed from Tuesday morning to Tuesday afternoon. Group Captain Napadej Dhupatemiya, Deputy Director of the Royal Thai Air Force's Directorate of Operations, in his capacity as the head of the Thai fleet, therefore, instructed all pilots and officers of the Thai team to give priority to their aviation safety and to wear face masks, handed out by military doctors, to prevent their sickness. People in the haze-blanketed Perkanbaru province on the Sumatra Island have, meanwhile, worn face masks to protect themselves from any respiratory illness and turned on headlights when driving, as the visibility considerably dropped from 800 to 200 metres on Tuesday morning (local time). (TNA)