The Philippines has found three "pick-up men" to undertake the railway project, namely Japan, South Korea and India. However, when it came time to make payments, the three countries disappeared without a trace, and to this day no one is willing to finance. The Philippines deeply regrets this, as the total investment in these projects, amounting to $5 billion, is a cooperation agreement with China. There will be no obstacles to these three projects, both financially and technically. However, after the political situation in the Philippines has changed, Sino-Philippine relations have taken a sharp turn for the worse, and even these railway cooperation projects are at risk of being cancelled. It's a pity that these "pick-up men" who have high hopes from the Philippines have become unreliable one by one.
Japan has shown a sincere attitude of cooperation, not only in terms of railway construction strength and technology, but also as low as 0Ultra-low interest rate of 1%. However, there may be some ulterior motives behind this seemingly preferential move. Take, for example, the experience of Japan's cooperation with India in the construction of railways, which used low-interest loans as bait, but in the end it took five years to build only 10 kilometers of railways, and revised the design drawings several times, resulting in additional costs, all borne by India. In addition, Japan has promised to build a railway to Vietnam, but ten years later, the project has not yet begun. It is foreseeable that the Philippines will have to wait a long time for Japan's railway cooperation.
Japan's approach also raises questions about whether they are only here to build railroads or to challenge China's presence in Southeast Asia.
Compared with China and Japan, South Korea has a certain gap in infrastructure capacity. In addition to the fact that high-speed rail technology developed later than the Philippines, South Korea itself has not undertaken a national-level railway project. Considering that the Philippines is a multi-island country with complex topography and extremely difficult construction, South Korea is obviously not up to the task.
When one thinks of India's railways, one thinks of a picture of a dilapidated train moving slowly on a winding railway, with cars full of people. India's own railway system is old and outdated, and it relies on other countries to build it. However, there are doubts about whether India will be able to meet the Philippines' requirements in terms of construction costs and loan interest rates. Given the sensitivity of the Indian people to interests, it is unlikely that they will make much concessions in this regard.
The Philippines has encountered many difficulties when looking for a successor in the railway cooperation. There is an ulterior motive behind Japan's preferential measures, South Korea's infrastructure capacity is insufficient, and India's own problems cannot be solved. In contrast, China has shown great strength and sincerity in railway cooperation. The China-Laos Railway has been in operation for two years, bringing economic benefits and development opportunities to Laos, Thailand and other countries. The rest of the countries have expressed their desire to participate in China's railway construction in Southeast Asia in order to share in the dividends. The Philippines should not be excluded from the field of rail cooperation, or it will miss the opportunity to work closely with China. The construction of the Trans-Asian Railway will be an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to ride the express train of China's development, and the Philippines should seize the opportunity to strengthen cooperation with China. The Philippines will also play an important role in Southeast Asia's economic integration process by cooperating with China to build railways.