A seemingly mutually beneficial fighter cooperation has now become a thorn between the two countries. In the past, the KF-21 fighter project jointly carried out by Indonesia and South Korea not only failed to advance as originally planned, but also caused a lot of trouble-Indonesia owed money and failed to pay it back, technology was accused of leakage, and cooperation was completely overturned.
More oddly, later, the South Korean media actually pushed the responsibility to China, saying what "the situation in the South China Sea made Indonesia regret". this matter is now bigger and bigger, cooperation has become a confrontation, friends have become rivals, nobody looks good.
The truth is that cooperation is wrong, or is geopolitics disrupting the situation? Today, let's break this matter apart and explain it clearly.
I originally wanted to cooperate in building fighter jets, but no one was satisfied
In 2010, Indonesia and South Korea were running together to do technology, to do the military industry market. Indonesian air force warplanes are old, maintenance costs are high, the fighting power can not be followed. South Korea wanted to make a prominence in the international weapons market, there is a demand on both sides, a hit. South Korea technology, Indonesia money, the goal is to build an advanced warplanes, Indonesia can also learn technology, the future can assemble itself.
In the past few years, more than ten years have passed, and this matter seems to be going smoothly. Prototypes have been built and tested. On the surface, the cooperation between the two countries is good, with engineers exchanging, factory cooperation, and the media all boasting about how promising this project is. But this enthusiasm didn't last long, and problems popped up one after another.
The first thing that exploded was money. Indonesia promised to make a portion of the research and development costs, but it was time not to make money. South Korea hastened several times, Indonesia said for a moment that the economic pressure was great, and for a moment that the payment time was pushed backwards. This made the South Korean side very dissatisfied, feeling that Indonesia was not honest, but remembered learning technology but did not want to spend money.
The engineers who were sent to Korea to participate in the project were suspected of secretly tortured the core information, and the South Korean side immediately took action to restrict their exit investigation.
In the meantime, the tense cooperation between the two countries was completely broken down. South Korean politicians openly questioned Indonesia, saying that it was not cooperation at all, but "technological blunders".
The warplanes themselves did not argue, and Indonesia began to "seek a different way out"
In fact, in addition to the money and trust issues, the KF-21 fighter itself has a lot of hard wounds.Al South Korea has a loud propaganda that it is an independently developed advanced model, in fact, many key technologies have to be supplied externally.
Engine, radar, sensor, many things are not made by South Korea itself, must be imported from the United States, Israel and other countries. so this aircraft looks modern, but once the technology supply is stuck, the whole project will come into trouble.
Speaking of performance, this aircraft has an advanced appearance, but its stealth capabilities are average. The weapons are not built-in, and its combat efficiency is just the same. To put it bluntly, it is a transitional product that cannot be compared with real fifth-generation machines, nor is it particularly attractive.
For Indonesia, it is estimated that it will take several years to wait for mass production, with an uncertain “future battle force” like that, rather than directly buy mature warplanes to be confident.
Indonesia's defense needs are the reality in front of the eye, the old warplanes should have been replaced long ago, and can not be supported by "future plans" alone.
So it began to consider other options, such as purchasing from countries such as Europe and Turkey. Although those fighter jets are more expensive, they are technologically mature, deliver quickly, and can be used immediately. In other words, Indonesia began to recalculate its books and felt that it was not cost-effective to continue to spend money with South Korea.
At this time, the emotions on the Korean side were complicated.On the one hand, the cooperation project that has been working for years is yellow, on the other hand, the technology may be leaked out, and the forward and back investment may float.
What makes South Korea even more dissatisfied is that Indonesia not only defaults on funds, but also looks like it does not intend to continue to cooperate. As a result, contradictions became public, cooperation became confrontation, and no one wanted to take another step back.
South Korean media suddenly "cry China", this pot dropped a bit loud
Just when everyone thought it was between Indonesia and South Korea, the South Korean media suddenly threw out a "God turn": the reason for this project is that China is engaged in military deployment in the South China Sea, Indonesia is threatened, so it is only temporarily to change the plan, rushing to buy ready-made warplanes to cope with the situation.
This statement came out, the public opinion exploded. Many people think that this pot is too unlogical. Indonesian debt deferral began a few years earlier, and the technical dispute is not a day or two.
More importantly, this statement ignores the fact that Indonesia itself is an independent country with the ability to judge, not who says what he hears. It has always pursued a policy of neutrality on the South China Sea issue, not choosing sidelines, and making independent decisions. If it abandoned KF-21 is influenced by China, it must not be too underestimated Indonesian strategic thinking.
It is also worth noting that this statement by the Korean media, in fact, is also looking for excuses for the failure of the military industry in the country. Instead of acknowledging their own technology is not mature enough, project management chaos, cooperation communication is not in place, rather than throwing the pot to "geopolitics", so it sounds like South Korea is the "victim".
Collaboration is yellow, everyone is not better, but the lessons are solid
This cooperation did not eventually go to the end, nobody got anything profitable.Indonesia although temporarily saved a little money, and may also get more mature products from other countries, but originally wanted to use this project to learn technology, to make local assembly, and now the soup.
South Korea is even more embarrassing. Without receiving complete funds, research and development results may be leaked, and the credibility of military exports has been hit.
What’s worse, this has had a big impact on the image of South Korea’s future in the international military industry market. Originally, KF-21 wanted to open the Southeast Asian market, and now the cooperation object turned directly, and there was a technical dispute.
From beginning to end, this storm was ultimately due to inconsistent expectations for cooperation between the two sides. South Korea wants to achieve breakthroughs in technology and market through this project, while Indonesia attaches more importance to technology transfer and practicality.
Once there is a gap between reality and plan, and trust fails to keep up, cooperation will naturally be difficult to sustain. When the foundation of cooperation is shaken, even the smallest problem will become a big contradiction.
Blame the failure on external factors may seem convenient, but it does not help the problem itself. Indonesia's choice was not a hothead, but an adjustment based on actual needs; South Korea's loss was not entirely Indonesia's fault, but the shortcomings of the entire project in terms of technology, management, and communication were exposed too quickly. These are the places where reflection is really needed.
A few last words
The cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea was originally a model of "mutual benefit and win-win", but it turned out to be a farce of "blaming each other". The project fell through, the money was not in place, there were technical disputes, and even friends couldn't do it. The most ironic thing is that it is obviously a cooperation issue between the two countries, but in the end, some people want to blame China. This approach is neither responsible nor can it solve practical problems.
This story tells us that international cooperation is not based on ideals and enthusiasm, but on clear goals, stable trust, solid technology and clear responsibilities. Once these conditions are not available, no matter how fun the beginning, it can end up cold and clear. In the end, cooperation is not a head shot, military and industrial projects are not a game. Without strength to do the bottom, no trust to support, more money can not save a project that is destined to turn.
Indonesia Ignores South Korea’s Payment “Ultimate Notice”, KF-21 or Will New Partners Come?