Part 2/16:
The origin story of the Jakarta-Bandung railway is as much about geopolitics as it is about engineering. Back in 2015, Indonesia made a strategic choice that stunned observers: despite Japan's well-prepared and highly credible proposal to build Southeast Asia's first high-speed rail, the government opted to throw its weight behind China. The Chinese offer was framed as a practically risk-free, business-to-business deal. China promised to fund the project entirely through private ventures, requiring no direct investment from Indonesia’s public purse, thus appealing to politicians and citizens eager for progress without immediate fiscal burden.