Thailand S Kra Land Bridge Project To Kick Off Soon

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Thai govt will reveal “land bridge” between Gulf of Thailand and Andaman in Juneto build two deepwater ports on either side linked by 100km railway, motorwayships between west Pacific and Middle East can use land bridge can avoid Malacca Straits world’s most congested sea corridorland bridge concept replaced idea of building canal
being called Chumphon–Ranong land bridge
particularly aimed at oil shipments from Gulf to China, Japan, South Korea
deep-sea port in Chumphon on Gulf of Thailand 
upgrading port of Ranong on Andaman Sea 
connected by dual-track railway and motorway

will bring down transport costs by bypassing Malacca Straits2016, 19m barrels crude/day,  24m containers/year through Malacca Strait beneficiary Singapore, Asia’s largest petrol terminal, 2nd busiest port in worldThailand hoping to become  “intercontinental shipment, cargo exchange gateway”land bridge is Thailand/China “geopolitical play”  
could fit in Belt and Road Initiative, link to Chinese railways 
Beijing less reliant on Strait of Malacca
My comments :
Thank you very much to long time reader Sampson who sent me this story and the following cartoon by Zunar.




This will certainly be a great project not only for Thailand but for the ASEAN region. for the entire world and for world peace. Do read on. 
Logistics and Economics 
From a logistics point of view this Isthmus of Kra Ports and Railway project will benefit all of us. It will certainly save up to four days passage for cargo which presently traverses the Straits of Melaka. That is plenty savings not only in freight and insurance charges for world trade but the quicker delivery times will add up to more cost savings for manufacturers, importers and traders in Europe, Africa and Asia.  This is a good thing. 
Yes Singapore will lose some of its pre-eminent position but not entirely. At the end of the day it is efficiency at the ports that will matter most. Singapore has been the world's busiest port (1st and 2nd) for decades. The entire island is set up for logistics and shipping. Handling world class volumes of freight will be something new for Thailand. Lets see what happens. Plus Singapore will have lots more to substitute any losses in their shipping industry.  It will not be too big a problem for Singapore. 
Geopolitics and China
The earlier plan to construct a canal through the isthmus of Kra was seriously mooted by Chinese companies, which were inadvertently always linked to the Chinese government. Hence it did not work out. 
Not only are the Thais not  keen on too much "dependence" on China but there is the American power play as well. America's unsinkable aircraft carriers in Asia include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.  
And with the rise of American paranoia against China, the Americans need their unsinkable Asian aircraft carriers more than ever. Which is why there was almost zero American resistance to the last coup de etat in Bangkok. The Americans need Thailand more than the Thais need the US and the Thais know it very well. This means the Thais can get substantial rewards from the US in exchange for Thailand's pro-US and slightly anti-China policies. 
(This is something that we in Malaysia do not use to our advantage simply because our dunggus not only do not understand the geopolitics but they cant speak English or negotiate well).
Which is also why China's One Belt One Road or OBOR has always hit a roadblock in Thailand. The OBOR has run into the Thai generals' pro-US stance. The Americans do not want to see the Chinese OBOR succeed. For now they have effectively stopped it in Thailand.
This is not good for ASEAN and the world. That railway connection from Kunming down past Vientiane (Laos), Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore must be built. 


And ultimately a bridge has to be built across the Straits of Melaka to connect that Chinese railway to Indonesia. Imagine the boost and boom in trade and industry for the whole region. Tuan-tuan we really must think big and become part of the real world.
What is the meaning of 'the real world'? The real world means the constantly changing world. We must keep up with change. 
This new Isthmus of Kra Ports and Railway project will see greater success if there is Chinese involvement.  That is a certainty because the largest volume of trade is with China.
And there will be a huge spin off in reducing US-China tensions in South East Asia. The Chinese need to secure their trade routes through the Straits of Melaka. That is why the Chinese are building such a large Navy.  And the Americans see the Straits of Melaka as a strategic choke point to choke off China.  The Straits of Melaka has become a source of instability in the region. And we are situated in the middle of it all.
Imagine if the Chinese can bypass the Straits of Melaka. It will substantially reduce the strategic threats to China's trade routes. The Chinese Navy can relax a lot more. The Americans too can turn their Navy around and go look for trouble elsewhere. 
I hope this project moves forward quickly.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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