Belt and Road Initiative: Advantages and Disadvantages for Indonesia

The Belt and Road Initiative, formerly known as One Belt One Road (OBOR), is a crucial element of President Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" policy. This policy aims to enable China to take on greater leadership in global affairs as a result of its growing power. The BRI's objective is to foster collaboration and joint development between China and countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The launch of the BRI coincided with ASEAN's vigorous promotion of its Masterplan for ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC), a strategy aimed at enhancing intra-ASEAN links. There is an opportunity to combine these efforts in a way that respects each other's borders and sensitivities. Indonesia and China are among the four most populated countries in the world, and the BRI will play a crucial role in their bilateral relations. The partnership between China and Indonesia holds great potential in areas such as trade, economy, technology, education, social services, and culture. This process has advantages and disadvantages for Indonesia, which will be discussed in this article, along with the way forward.


Introduction
Trade is defined by Oxford Learner's Dictionary as, "the activity of buying and selling or of exchanging goods or services between people or countries." (Trade_1

Noun -Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries. Com, n.d.). Trade between individuals or groups inside a country is very important for the society's uplift and advancement, similarly international trade is very important for the progress of a country. Especially in a country like Indonesia, with its geographical location at the center of the world's most important trade route, the Strait of Malacca, it becomes even more important to be involved in trade with multiple countries.
China has long recognized that trade is a crucial component of its economy and has become the largest trading nation globally, surpassing the US in 2013 (Monaghan, 2014). During his visit to Indonesia in October 2013, President Xi Jinping suggested the idea of promoting maritime cooperation and trade between China and ASEAN countries, particularly Indonesia. This initiative was later named the 21st Maritime Silk Road. A month earlier, while visiting Kazakhstan, he introduced a similar concept called the Silk Road Economic Belt, which involved the development of road and rail infrastructure. These two proposals are now collectively referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This article intends to briefly explain what the BRI is and its advantages and disadvantages for Indonesia in terms of defense diplomacy.

Literature Review
BRI is a futuristic expansion of the old idea of China's Silk Route. Indo-Pacific in particular, is one of the world's most strategic regions not only because of the Strait of Initiative (BRI). When a country attains sufficient wealth and power, it typically seeks political influence commensurate with its economic impact. However, China's efforts to enhance its political and economic clout have sparked censure. For instance, the BRI has been criticized for "debt-trapping" less developed countries and resorting to exploitative practices. (The, 2022: 37-38)

Research Methodology
A quasi-qualitative research methodology was adopted for analysing the Belt and Road Initiative of China and the opportunities it brings forth for Indonesia, along with Jurnal Diplomasi Pertahanan, Volume 9, Nomor 1, 2023 E-ISSN 2746-8496 42 the threats. A focused framework was adopted as per quasi-qualitative research requirement considering the issues at hand. Whereas many books, scholarly articles, media interviews, news, and internet sources were rereferred to gather data and draw inferences.

Belt and Road Initiative
In 2013, China's government adopted a global infrastructure investment strategy named the Belt and Road Initiative, previously referred to as One Belt One Road (OBOR). This initiative is deemed a centerpiece of the foreign policy of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The BRI plays a crucial part in Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" approach, which aims to have China play a more significant leadership role in the global arena by virtue of its rising power and influence (Smith, 2021 government's failure to clearly express its objectives and methods for achieving them.
Although the government has identified five areas for cooperation, it has not provided its perspective on how this cooperation should occur. The BRI has been implemented in a piecemeal fashion, with each segment consisting of a bilateral agreement between China and a participating country, without input from other participating countries, including neighbouring nations.

China and Indonesia
China and Indonesia are two of the most populous countries in the world, with From Indonesia's perspective, the BRI presents a significant opportunity to enhance its infrastructure and connectivity, thereby strengthening its position in the global market. As the world's largest archipelago nation situated at the intersection of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Indonesia must leverage its strategic location for its own benefit and that of the country.

Infrastructure Development
President Joko Widodo attended the inaugural BRI Summit in Beijing in May 2017.
The fundamental objective of the BRI is to promote deeper sub-regional, regional, and inter-regional integration by enhancing the logistics and transport infrastructure of participating nations, like as ports, railroads, and highways, which are essential for facilitating commerce between them. Additionally, the effort is consistent with While the opportunities that BRI can bring to the Indonesian economy are numerous, some concerns are highlighted below.

Foreign Workers from China
Indonesia seeks to restrict the entry of foreign employees as it struggles to add more than two million new jobs each year to accommodate new entrants into the labour market. In the meantime, China is presently experiencing overcapacity in several industries, including cement, steel, and others. China is also dealing with a surplus of unemployed employees. To reduce industrial overcapacity and pollution, China has reportedly been planning to lay off five to six million people (Kang Lim, Benjamin; Miller, Matthew; Stanway, 2016).

Transfer of Technology and Environment
The reliability of Chinese firms planning to invest in Indonesia is another area of concern. This unease is largely due to Indonesia's past experiences with Chinese investors, including the PLN fast-track program in energy cooperation with the Indonesian National Electricity Company. The initiative aimed to boost electricity capacity in Indonesia to meet growing demand and was implemented in two stages, each adding 10,000 MW to the existing capacity. The first stage commenced in 2006 and was initially intended to conclude in 2010, but due to various problems, it was extended until 2014.
It has been questioned whether China is willing to share its expertise and technology with its regional allies. The administration appears to want to make sure that foreign investment brings in knowledge and technology and not just dollars since they recognize that knowledge and technology are the keys to the nation's future. The government is hoping that Chinese businesses will be more eager to share their knowledge and innovations with domestic businesses as compared to businesses from foreign nations.
There have been successful Chinese infrastructure projects in Indonesia as well, for example, Suramadu Bridge connecting Java and Madura Island was completed close to its timeline. impacts of all BRI projects in Indonesia. To ensure this, all BRI projects must abide by the country's environmental laws and regulations.

Trade Balance and Fiscal Burden
The trade balance between Indonesia and China poses a challenge, as Indonesia has been experiencing a sustained trade deficit with China in recent years. There is concern that infrastructure finance under the BRI will further increase imports from China, as Chinese investors are likely to use Chinese parts, components, and equipment. Although this concern is understandable, it is unavoidable for several reasons: • Regardless of the source of infrastructure financing, imports of most of the necessary parts are likely to increase.
• The trade balance should not be viewed as a bilateral issue in isolation from the rest of the world's trade balance, but as an overall trade balance.
• As infrastructure development increases imports, Indonesia's total trade balance may worsen, but the government has no choice but to proceed with the development plan. Improvements in infrastructure are likely to enhance the country's competitiveness, leading to improved trade balance in the future.
However, Indonesia should attempt to diversify its technology sources to avoid excessive reliance on technology from a single country.

Conclusion and Way Forward
China is a rapidly growing economy and is on track to become the world's largest economy soon. It is already Indonesia's most significant trading partner. Therefore, having a positive economic relationship with China is crucial for Indonesia. While involved. This has had implications for both the Chinese and Indonesian economies, particularly the latter as a developing country (Napang, 2022).
ASEAN already provides a solid platform to amicably resolve any potential friction among its members. This forum has to bring in China, US and Australia to discuss the BRI and carry out a SWOT analysis, and then with Indonesia as the mediator try and resolve the issue for the greater good of world trade.