Philippines calls on Indonesia to end coal ban

The Philippines has urged Indonesia to lift its recent ban on coal exports, with Manila warning Monday the policy will have a "detrimental" impact on the coal-reliant country.

Indonesia, the world's biggest exporter of coal used to generate electricity, this month stopped fossil fuel shipments to secure its domestic power supply.

The Philippines imports about 70 per cent of its coal supply and nearly 97 per cent of that comes from Indonesia, official data show. Most of the coal is used for power generation.

Jakarta's ban on January coal exports would be "detrimental" to countries like the Philippines that rely on coal-fired power, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a letter to his Indonesian counterpart last Thursday, according to a Department of Energy statement on Monday.

"Power generated from coal comprises about 60 per cent of the country's power demand," Cusi added. Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin has been enlisted to appeal against Indonesia's decision via the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the statement said.

Japan has also issued a similar appeal to Indonesia.