Proyek Tiongkok-Laos Railway

Ancaman Debt-Trap Diplomacy Tiongkok Bagi Laos

Authors

  • Gidion Martins Daud
  • Tulus Yuniasih

Keywords:

Belt and Road Initiative, China-Laos Railway, debt-trap diplomacy, structural power, China, Lao

Abstract

This research discusses the potential debt-trap as a threat for Lao PDR, within China's diplomacy in their development cooperation for China-Lao Railway. The discourse of China's debt-trap diplomacy has been analyzed among international relations scholars, especially its relevancy with her Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework. China's cooperation projects with countries worldwide under BRI are seen as containing debt-trap character due to its funding scheme that is considered as unsustainable debt. This leads the debtor to experience payment difficulties and thus compromise her strategic national assets as collateral. Therefore, this qualitative research aims to describe the China-Lao Railway project as one of the development projects under the cooperation between two countries, to explain the characteristic of China's debt-trap diplomacy, and mainly focuses to analyze the potential threat coming from this project viewed as potential debt-trap diplomacy. This research uses debt-trap diplomacy concept and structural power theory in analyzing the secondary data. The result shows that TLR creates and strengthens China's structural power over Lao PDR in finance, transportation, and welfare. Especially in the financial aspect, the established structural power potentially builds unsustainable debt for Lao PDR.

References

Ammar, Faishal. (2019). “The Fox and The Dragon : Proyek Kereta Cepat (HSR) Laos Sebagai Strategi “Bandwagoning for Profit.” Journal of Internasional Relations 5 (4): 627-635.
Anam, dkk. (2018). "Kebijakan Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Tiongkok pada Masa Pemerintahan Xi Jinping." Jurnal ilmiah Hubungan internasional 14(2): 217-236.
Asia Sentinel, (2017, 8 Maret), “China Starts Controversial Lao Rail Project,” https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/china-laos-railroad-project diakses 15 Januari 2020.
Bank of The Lao P. D. R. 2018. Annual Economic Report. https://www.bol.gov.la/en/fileupload/26-06-2020_1593136336.pdf diakses 01 November 2020.
Bank of The Lao P.D.R. 2020. Signing Ceremony of the Agreement on Bilateral Local Currency Cooperation between the Bank of the Lao PDR and the People’s Bank of China. https://www.bol.gov.la/en/fileupload/09-01-2020_1578535563.pdf diakses 15 Januari 2021.
Chellaney, Brahma. (2017). dipublikasikan oleh Project Syndicate. “China’s Debt-Trap Diplomacy.” https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-one-belt-one-road-loans-debt-by-brahmachellaney-2017-01?barrier=accesspaylog diakses pada 26 April 2020.
China Economic Information Service. Xinhua Silk Road Department. 2018.
Christopher, Passalacqua Claudio. (2015). Tesis. “China’s New Opening Up Policy: The One Belt One Road Initiative.” LUISS. http://tesi.luiss.it/17970/ diakses 26 April 2020.
De Soyres, François .(2018). “The Growth and Welfare Effects of the Belt and Road Initiative on East Asia Pacific Countries (English).” MTI Practice Note;no. 4, Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/896581540306960489/The-Growth-and-Welfare-Effects-ofthe-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-on-East-Asia-Pacific-Countries diakses 20 Januari 2021.
Embasy of The People’s Republic of China in Barbados. 2014. News: Li Keqiang Holds Talks with Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong of Laos, Jointly Announcing Start of Negotiations on Railway Cooperation Agreement Between the Two Governments. http://bb.chinaembassy.org/eng/zgyw/t1145334.htm diakses 23 Januari 2021.
Freeman, Nick. (2019), (a). “Laos’s High-Speed Railway Coming Round the Bend.” ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute Perspective, Issue: 2019, No. 101. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_101.pdf diakses 06 November 2020.
Freeman, Nick. (2019), (b). “Laos’s High-Speed Railway Coming Round the Bend.” dipublikasikan oleh ThinkChina. https://www.thinkchina.sg/laos-high-speed-railway-coming-round-bend diakses 15 Januari 2021.
Gerin, Roseanne. (2016). dipublikasikan oleh Radio Free Asia. “Laos and China Come to Terms on Laos Interest Rate for Railway Project.” https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/laos-china-come-to-terms-on-loan-interest-rate-for-railway-project-01042016163552.html diakses 3 Februari 2021.
Gerstel, Dylan. (2018). dipublikasikan oleh CSIS. “It’s a (Debt) Trap! Managing China-IMF Cooperation Across The Belt and Road.” https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/181017_DebtTrap.pdf?MKq76lYIBpiOgyPZ9EyK2VUD7on_2rIV diakses 20 Desember 2020.
Gopaldas, Ronak. “Lessons from Sri Lanka on China's 'debt-trap diplomacy'.” Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Africa. https://issafrica.org/amp/iss-today/lessons-from-sri-lanka-on-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy diakses pada 26 April 2020.
Hakura, Dalia. (2020). dipublikasikan oleh IMF. “What is Debt Sustainability?” https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2020/09/what-is-debt-sustainability-basics.htm#:~:text=When%20debt%20is%20sustainable&text=A%20country's%20public%20debt%20is,assistance%20or%20going%20into%20default.&text=When%20countries%20borrow%20from%20financial,with%20refinancing%20are%20important%20too diakses 10 Januari 2021.
Hayes, Mike. (2016). dipublikasikan oleh KHL. “China Railway signs US$ 1.2 billion deal for Laos rail link.” https://www.khl.com/features/china-Railway-signs-us-12-billion-deal-for-laos-rail-link/121046.article diakses 20 Desember 2020.
Hillman, Jonathan E. (2018), (a). “China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Five Years Later.” CSIS Report. https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-five-years-later-0 diakses 12 Desember 2020.
Hillman, Jonathan E. (2018), (b). “Game of Loans: How China Bought Hambantota.” https://www.csis.org/analysis/game-loans-how-china-bought-hambantota diakses pada 26 April 2020.
Ho, Selina. (2019). dipublikasikan oleh East Asia Forum. “Can the China-Laos Railway Keep on Track?” https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/07/12/can-the-china-laos-railway-keep-on-track/ diakses 15 Januari 2021.
Horn, Sebastian. dkk. (2020), (a). dipublikasikan oleh Harvard Business Review. “How Much Money Does The World Owe China?” https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-much-money-does-the-world-owe-china diakses 12 Desember 2020.
ICBC. 2012. ICBC Become Laos’ Sole RMB-Clearing Bank. https://www.icbc.com.cn/icbc/en/newsupdates/icbc%20news/ICBC%20Becomes%20Laos%20Sole%20RMBClearing%20Bank.htm diakses 20 Januari 2021.
IMF. 2017. Lao People's Democratic Republic Staff Report for The 2016 Article Iv Consultation— Debt Sustainability Analysis. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/dsa/pdf/2017/dsacr1753.pdf diakses 23 Januari 2021.
IMF. 2018. Lao People’s Democratic Republic: 2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Statement by the Executive Director for Lao People's Democratic Republic. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2018/03/23/Lao-Peoples-Democratic-Republic-2017-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-45750 diakses 23 Januari 2021.
IMF. 2019. IMF Staff Country Report: Lao People’s Democratic Republic: 2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Statement by the Executive Director for Lao People's Democratic Republic. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2019/08/08/Lao-Peoples-Democratic-Republic-2019-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-48577 diakses pada 26 April 2020.
Janssen, Peter. (2018). dipublikasikan oleh Asia Times. “China Train Project Runs Roughshod over Laos.” https://asiatimes.com/2018/08/china-train-project-runs-roughshod-over-laos/ diakses 06 November 2020.
Lei, Zhao. (2015). dipublikasikan oleh China Daily. “China, Laos Sign Railway Deal.” https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-11/14/content_22456633.htm diakses 23 Januari 2021.
Loser, Claudio M. (2004). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. G-24 Discussion Paper. External Debt Sustainability: Guidelines for Low and Middle Income Countries. No. 26. https://unctad.org/en/Docs/gdsmdpbg2420042_en.pdf diakses pada 30 April 2020.
Ministry of Planning and Investment. http://investlaos.gov.la/images/Statistics/rpt_Invest_Summary_Country1A_1989-2019.pdf diakses 01 November 2020.
Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Lao PDR, 2017, dipresentasikan dalam 5th Meeting of the Working Group on the Trans-ASIAN Railway Network, https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Lao%20PDR%20country%20report-TAR%20WGM-5.pdf diakses 23 Januari 2021.
Morris, Scott. (2019). “The Kunming-Vientiane Railway: The Economic, Procurement, Labor, and Safeguards Dimensions of a Chinese Belt and Road Project,” CGD Policy Paper 142, Washington DC: Center for Global Development.
Nouansavanh, Khamlusa. (2010). “Lao PDR perspectives and policies towards GMS.” Ritsumeikan International Affairs 8: 17-30.
Okano-Heijmans, Maaike. (2011). “Conceptualizing Economic Diplomacy:The Crossroads of International Relations, Economics, IPE and Diplomatic Studies.” The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 6: 7-36.
Parker, Sam. & Gabrielle Chefitz. (2018). “Debtbook Diplomacy.” Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Harvard Kennedy School.
Phonevilay, Latsamy. (2020). dipublikasikan oleh The Laotian Times. “Construction of Vientiane Station Commences on Laos-China Railway.” https://laotiantimes.com/2020/07/04/construction-of-vientiane-station-commences-on-laos-china-railway/ diakses 20 Desember 2020.
Rajah, Roland. dkk. (2019). dipublikasikan oleh Lowy Institute. “Ocean of Debt? Belt and Roand and Debt Diplomacy in The Pacific.” https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/ocean-debt-belt-and-road-and-debt-diplomacy-pacific diakses 10 Januari 2021.
Horn, Sebastian. dkk. (2019), (a). “China’s overseas lending (No. w26050).” National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26050/w26050.pdf
Horn, Sebastian. dkk. (2019), (b). “China’s Overseas Lending.” Kiel Working Paper No. 2132. https://www.ifw-kiel.de/publications/kiel-working-papers/chinas-overseas-lending-12820/
Strange, Susan. (1994). States and Markets Second Edition. London: Pinter Publishers.
The ASEAN Post. (2018, 11 Desember). “Is the BRI debt trap real?” https://theaseanpost.com/article/bri-debt-trap-real diakses 26 April 2020.
The Laotian Times. (2017, 20 Februari). “Everything You Need to Know about the Laos-China Railway.” https://laotiantimes.com/2017/02/20/everything-you-need-to-know-laos-china-Railway/ diakses pada 26 April 2020.
The Phnom Penh Post. (2020, 14 Desember). “Gov’t, Laos-China Railway Sign Development MoU.” https://www.phnompenhpost.com/international/govt-laos-china-railway-sign-development-mou diakses 3 Februari 2021.
The World Bank. 2020. Transforming Lao PDR from a Land-locked to a Land-linked Economy. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/648271591174002567/pdf/Main-Report.pdf diakses 24 Januari 2021.
The World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=LA diakses pada 26 April 2020.
Vientiane Times. (2019, 8 Juli). “Nation Needs to Seize Opportunities Offered by Laos-China Railway.” https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten_Nation_needs_156.php diakses 3 Ferbruari 2021.
Wibawati, dkk. (2018). "Potensi dan Tantangan One Belt One Road (OBOR) bagi Kepentingan Nasional Indonesia di Bidang Maritim." Jurnal Kajian Wilayah 9(2): 109-123.
ZiroMwatela, Raphael & Zhao Changfeng. (2016). "Africa in China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’Initiative: A Critical Analysis." ISOR Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 21(12): 10-21.

Downloads

Published

2022-01-06

How to Cite

Daud, G. M., & Yuniasih, T. (2022). Proyek Tiongkok-Laos Railway: Ancaman Debt-Trap Diplomacy Tiongkok Bagi Laos. Balcony, 5(2), 147–164. Retrieved from https://jom.fisip.budiluhur.ac.id/index.php/balcony/article/view/257

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >> 

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.