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Indonesia-China maritime connectivity: Impediments and prospects
China has made less effort with maritime connectivity projects, especially for projects in archipelagic countries.
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Centre for Strategic and International Studies cofounder Jusuf Wanandi (from left to right) smiles on stage while standing next to Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, former Chinese ambassador to Indonesia Lan Lijun and Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun during the opening of a seminar on the fifth anniversary of the Indonesia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
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hina is cooperating with a few ASEAN countries on transportation infrastructure. These projects include the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, a railway in Southern Malaysia and the China-Thailand and China-Vietnam railway projects. China and ASEAN cooperation on physical connectivity focuses heavily on inland transportation, while maritime connectivity projects have not been given the same level of attention by China.
China has made less effort with maritime connectivity projects, especially for projects in archipelagic countries. Many Indonesian observers have criticized the collaboration in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project, citing its misplaced emphasis on inland transportation and infrastructure in Java instead of maritime connectivity between outer islands, which was declared a prioritized objective of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in his Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy.
Chinese and Indonesian leaders have expressed goodwill in cooperation on maritime projects on several important occasions. However, there is no such mega-project cooperation on the sea as salient as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project. This is somewhat surprising when taking into account the shared political will of the two nations’ leaders and the positive bilateral relations at the moment.
What impediments hinder the cooperation of Jakarta and Beijing in maritime connectivity? First and foremost, policy coordination is inadequate between Beijing and Jakarta. The lack of policy coordination has resulted in two negative outcomes, ignorance and misplaced focus.
Chinese and Indonesian policymakers are insensitive to their counterpart’s updates of the maritime strategy and regulations. In 2017, the Indonesia government issued Presidential Regulation No. 16. It was the first comprehensive national maritime strategy in Indonesia and the first short-term action plan (2016-2019). This legal document detailed the long-term objectives and short-term goals, which are tantamount to a road map for every potential partner to cooperate with Indonesia on any maritime project.
However, the road map seems to have received little attention from Chinese academics or policymakers. In 2014-2015, President Jokowi’s Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy attracted huge attention among Chinese scholars and officials. Articles on Indonesia’s maritime strategy were published in almost every Chinese academic journal on Southeast Asian studies.
However, from 2016 onward, discussions on Indonesia’s maritime strategy began to wane. The enactment of Presidential Regulation No. 16 had little impact in China. The Indonesian government and stakeholders are also unfamiliar with the progress of Chinese maritime policies.
