"If you look at the amount of investment from China, it is a lot. But some people still say 'debt trap, debt trap'," Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Wednesday at the China Business Forum.Some economists have warned the government that an increase in Chinese investment, especially that financed under the economic giant’s Belt and Road Initiative , could cause the country to fall into a debt trap.
Over the past week, Jakarta and Beijing have been embroiled in a diplomatic tug-of-war over the latter’s claim to parts of Indonesia’s EEZ, after the Maritime Security Agency reported multiple counts of the Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels operating there illegally. Indonesia's debt-to-GDP ratio was recorded at 29.8 per cent at the end of 2019, according to the Finance Ministry as quoted by kompas.com.