Bullet trains designed for 350km/h travel from Jakarta-Bandung roll off assembly line in East China’s, Qingdao, Shandong Province (Xinhua/China Railway)
After delays due COVID-19, land dispute, and environmental concerns the news of 12 high-speed electric passenger trains rolling off the production line in Qingdao, China, is a major step forward for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project edging closer to operation.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, through the use of trains traveling up to 350km per hour, will transform a journey of over three hours into one of 40 minutes. Moreover, assuming wise governance prevails, this project signals the dawn of a new age of South-South development between two Asian giants. China’s dedication in its involvement to develop a public transformation in a developing country, especially the cooperation with Indonesia on the league of super-fast rail transportation, represents a major achievement in breaking out of its assigned place in the world order of “haves” and “have nots”.
Considering many develop countries have neglected their transport systems, Indonesia shoul be rightfully proud. However, it’s more than showboating. If China’s success is anything to go by, high-speed rail can raise the economic prospects of Indonesia.
On an island as densely populated as Java the economic and environmental argument for rail transport is more than evident. Economically, tourism is boosted. Business desires to be located where there is greater convenience, and city clusters start to work in synchronicity. Environmentally, the reliance on polluting and wasteful private car ownership is cut and flights, which don’t bring any economic benefit to intermediary towns, become less necessary.
Undoubtedly, the current Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project could not have come about without a healthy win-win mindset between Indonesia and China, which recognizes disputes in other areas do not need to cloud comprehensive cooperation. Beside the maritime issue in the South China Sea, both sides have managed to compartmentalize this dispute to the extent by conducting joint naval exercises such as search and rescue missions as well as communication drills. This shown us that they’re able to manage a peaceful cooperation and become an example to other actors in the Global South and the developed world.
Here, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project is one of a numerous BRI project in development. There’re also the Morowali Industrial Park, the Probolinggo – Banyuwangi highway, and the Batangtoru Hydroelectric Power Plant. In the near future, this type of cooperation aims to achieve the initial modest dream of development and raising itself up the value chain of Indonesia’s government to remain disciplined and refrain from any divide and rule attempts carried out by outside powers. This plan isn’t just a link on the Maritime Silk Road, but firmly entrenched on the land route too.
This article was retrieved from: https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202208/10/WS62f34acaa310fd2b29e716bf.html (August, 19th, 2022)