Phar, Kim Beng and Hamzah, Luthfy (2025) China and ASEAN must overcome their challenges in building more railways. China and ASEAN must overcome their challenges in building more railways, NA (NA). p. 1.
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Abstract
This article examines the evolving challenges in China–ASEAN railway cooperation, arguing that while infrastructure connectivity remains central to regional integration, existing projects reveal significant structural, financial, and political limitations. It highlights how flagship initiatives under China’s Belt and Road framework—such as the Laos–China railway and the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail—have exposed issues including debt sustainability, cost overruns, technical incompatibilities, and limited local economic spillovers. These challenges have generated growing scepticism among ASEAN member states regarding the long-term viability of China-led railway diplomacy. The article contrasts China’s “build now, adjust later” approach with ASEAN’s preference for gradualism, transparency, and consultative governance, shaped by domestic political sensitivities and institutional diversity. It argues that fragmented bilateral arrangements have hindered the development of a coherent regional rail network, while also creating asymmetries in bargaining power between China and individual ASEAN states. In response, the article proposes the establishment of a more institutionalised framework—such as an ASEAN–China Infrastructure Council—to harmonise standards, coordinate financing, and ensure equitable outcomes across the region. Ultimately, the article concludes that successful railway connectivity depends on recalibrating the partnership from one driven by scale and speed to one grounded in trust, sustainability, and shared ownership. Only through such a shift can rail infrastructure evolve from a symbol of geopolitical ambition into a genuine catalyst for regional integration, economic resilience, and ASEAN centrality.
| Item Type: | Article (Electronic Media) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; ASEAN centrality; Belt and Road; Build Now, Adjust Later |
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Political Science Office of the Rector |
| Depositing User: | Mr Muhammad Syameer Luthfy Bin Hamzah |
| Date Deposited: | 07 May 2026 16:43 |
| Last Modified: | 07 May 2026 16:43 |
| Queue Number: | 2026-05-Q3234 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/128848 |
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