TOKYO: Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) plans to start a fourth release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in late February, an official said on Tuesday (Jan 16), continuing a move criticised by China. The staged water releases began last August in what JapanContinue Reading
TOKYO: Japan plans to double a fund used for disaster relief and other contingencies to US$6.8 billion after a devastating New Year’s Day earthquake, the government said Tuesday (Jan 16), as snow worsened conditions for survivors. The 7.5-magnitude quake and powerful aftershocks killed at least 222 people in central Japan, layingContinue Reading
An IndiGo flight passenger was detained by authorities on Sunday (Jan 14) after he attacked a pilot over a flight delay amid dense fog in Northern India. In a video circulating on social media, a man in a yellow hoodie can be seen charging towards the pilot who has aContinue Reading
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday (Jan 15) called for a constitutional amendment to change the status of South Korea to a separate state and warned that while his country doesn’t seek war, it didn’t intend to avoid it, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim saidContinue Reading
On its part, Jokowi’s government maintains a positive view about future bilateral relations with Beijing.
In December 2023, Erick Thohir, as ad interim Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment (during minister Luhut Panjaitan’s spate of ill health), stated at the fourth Indonesia-China Business Partnership meeting in East Nusa Tenggara that the government appreciated the role of Chinese investors who had become industrial pioneers, laying the foundation of the downstream industry and helping to develop remote regions in Indonesia.
Thohir pointed out that under the bilateral strategic partnership that started in 2013, several important achievements, including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail and work on Indonesia’s green energy transition, had been made. He added that Indonesia-China cooperation would be lasting, as it was built based on mutual trust and mutual benefit.
During the Jokowi administration, there is no doubt that China’s investment and economic role in Indonesia has grown, which matches Indonesia’s ambitions for a push in its industrialisation through infrastructure and downstreaming industry.
Nevertheless, China’s domination in the nickel industry in Indonesia is a cause for concern. One repercussion in the climate of decoupling has been on access to Western markets. In fact, Indonesia’s nickel products have no access to the US market, partly due to this “China factor”.
It is important to note that Indonesia has been trying to invite larger investments from Western countries but the latter are currently distracted by domestic concerns, the Ukraine war, and the Gaza crisis. Their appetite for open international trade and investment has been weakening.
Conversely and opportunistically, China has won partners and expanded its economic influence, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia. According to official data, as of the third quarter of 2023, China and Hong Kong were the second and third largest investors in Indonesia after Singapore, with total investment reaching US$3.5 billion.
While the China factor will not likely be a controversial election issue in 2024, Indonesia still needs to carefully manage existing public apprehension concerning China’s growing economic role, especially when Indonesian lives are at stake.
The new administration taking over from Widodo will need to continue diversifying Indonesia’s economic cooperation, including with Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa.
Leo Suryadinata is Visiting Senior Fellow, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Adjunct Professor at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at NTU. Siwage Dharma Negara is Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Indonesia Studies Programme, and the Coordinator of the APEC Study Centre, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. This commentary first appeared on ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s blog, Fulcrum.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied arms deals but have said they would deepen cooperation across the board and have staged a series of high-level meetings since last year, including the summit between Putin and Kim. Peskov said Russia hoped a Putin visit to North Korea, at Kim’s invitation, would takeContinue Reading
“ACCEPTABLE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT” The poll will take place amid increasing militant attacks and an economic nosedive that has ravaged the rupee and sent the cost of living soaring. Originally due in November, the election commission delayed the vote in order to redraw constituencies after a new census. Analysts suggestContinue Reading
BEIJING: China has called for an end to attacks on civilian vessels in the Red Sea that have dramatically widened the Hamas-Israel conflict and placed Beijing’s commercial interests along the Suez Canal at risk. The Iran-backed Houthi militia from Yemen that seeks “Death to Israel” is challenging the ability ofContinue Reading
SRINAGAR, India : A lack of snowfall has led to empty ski resorts and holiday cancellations in the Indian Himalayas, with scientists linking the “unusual” winter to the El Nino weather phenomenon. The dry spell in Kashmir has pushed skiers to skip the popular resort of Gulmarg, one of theContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Seven Malaysian and international groups – comprising 31 firms – have submitted their concept proposals for the development of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) project, marking another twist in Malaysia’s bid to revive the on-off-on initiative. According to a statement on Monday (Jan 15), the proposals wereContinue Reading