However, China was not the only nation to provide funding for this endeavor. The Jakarta – Bandung high-speed railway’s financing was initially a contest between China and Japan. A chance to enhance inter-city communication was suggested in the form of the Bandung-Javanese high-speed railway after Japan’s victory in addressing Jakartas population density problem by building the Jakarta Mass Rail Transit System during the 2000s.
Both China and Japan made a charge in 2015. The main factor in Japan’s rejection of the Chinese play was its emphasis on a payment guarantee from the Malaysian authorities, even though there were additional benefits, such as an offer of technology transfer. This demonstrates Indonesia’s efforts to uphold its reign.
Indonesia insisted it may demand the same of China after rejecting Japan’s play on these grounds. Beijing, but, responded harshly when Jakarta asked it to pay the budget surplus, putting a strain on the once-strong economic ties between Indonesia and China.
Chinese companies like Alibaba Cloud first showed interest in similar large infrastructure projects, such as Nusantara, the ambitious project by Indonesian President Joko Widodok to relocate the nation’s capital to East Kalimantan, but these projects ultimately fell through.
Firm IN SOUTHEAST Eastern COUNTRIES
However, the high-speed rail project has shown that Indonesia is determined to keep its agency in charge of such initiatives, as evidenced by the fact that it chose to cover the flooded costs out of its own budget. Despite the promise of significant equipment investments from China, there is a growing trend of nations in Southeast Asia following suit.
Related problems have been encountered with the Export-Import Bank of China-funded East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad renegotiated the project, which had been stalled since 2016 with an initial estimated price of$ 16 billion, to$ 11 billion and a favorable deal for Malay staff in order to make the investment between Malaysia and China more just.