Indonesia plays China against Japan for better infrastructure deals
China's desire to develop political and commercial links to Indonesia a boon for Jokowi
Singapore
AFTER more than five years of feasibility studies and high-level lobbying, Japanese officials thought they were on the brink of bringing bullet trains to Indonesia. Then China showed up.
"Suddenly, the minister of state-owned enterprises announced they had made something with the Chinese," said Hiromichi Muraoka, senior Indonesia representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the country's foreign aid arm. "That surprised me."