Why is the Cambodian Canal project, which has not been started for a century, becoming popular again?
2024-08-25
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Yangcheng Evening News Omnimedia Reporter Sun Wei
Recently, the Cambodia Canal Project officially started. The designed length of the Tak Chong Phu Nan Canal is 180 kilometers, with an estimated total investment of US$1.7 billion, and it will be completed and open to navigation in 2028. However, when the news of the start of the Tak Chong Phu Nan Canal came, a canal that only existed in imagination, the "Kra Canal", unexpectedly became popular. The number of readings of the topic #KraCanal# on Weibo has exceeded 1.4 million, and it has also attracted attention on overseas social media. What kind of canal is this, and why is it popular again?
Centuries-old canal dream
To talk about the Kra Canal, we first need to talk about the Isthmus of Kra. The Isthmus of Kra is a narrow strip of land located in Chumphon and Ranong provinces of Thailand. To the west is the Andaman Sea, and to the west is the Indian Ocean; to the east is the Gulf of Thailand, and to the east is the Pacific Ocean. The Isthmus of Kra is the narrowest section of the narrow strip of land in southern Thailand on the Malay Peninsula, and is only 50 kilometers long. In other words, if a canal is built here, it will connect the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, greatly shortening the voyage of ships traveling between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and reducing shipping costs.
Discussions about the Kra Canal are not new. Yangcheng Evening News reported on the Kra Canal in detail nearly ten years ago (see page A14 on May 22, 2015). Currently, the Strait of Malacca is a famous channel connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. If a canal is opened through the Isthmus of Kra, the importance of the Strait of Malacca will inevitably be reduced. Therefore, for many years, the controllers of the Strait of Malacca have not been happy to see Thailand open the Kra Canal.
In fact, Thailand had already begun discussing the canal plan as early as the 17th century. However, due to various reasons, the canal has never been "launched". Relevant experts analyzed that the Kra Canal has never been built, mainly because of the uncertainty of Thailand's own political and economic benefits, the risk of corruption during the construction process, the risk of Thailand's national security, and the geopolitical considerations that may arise after its opening.
Or have a huge impact on East Asia
There has been a lot of calls for the opening of the Kra Canal, but it has always been "much ado about nothing". In 2001, the Thai Senate passed a resolution to establish a special committee for the Kra Canal. The then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appointed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to be in charge of the work of this special committee. As a result, in 2006, the work of the Kra Canal Special Committee was terminated for some reason. Nearly 20 years have passed, and with the change of political situation, the discussion on the Kra Canal has heated up again on the Internet.
If the Kra Canal can be successfully opened, what impact will it bring? The most intuitive one is the convenience of transportation. If the canal is opened, the voyage from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean will be shortened by at least 1,200 kilometers, saving shipping costs. In addition, Thailand's military force projection will also be more convenient. After all, if the navy on the east coast of Thailand wants to reach the west coast, it has to go through the Strait of Malacca.
Secondly, it will inevitably have a positive effect on local economic development. Ma Deyi, a professor at the School of International Law of East China University of Political Science and Law, wrote that in the context of global connectivity, the Kra Canal project is not only an important part of regional infrastructure construction, but also plays a key role in global geopolitical and economic integration. According to the "Global Port Development Report (2023)" released by the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, in 2023, the container throughput of Singapore Port will reach 39.01 million TEUs, ranking second in the world. If the Kra Canal is opened, it will inevitably drive the development of local transportation, tourism and other industries in Thailand, and form a complementary and competitive relationship with Singapore Port.
Finally, the opening of the Kra Canal will also usher in a revolution in the geopolitical landscape of Southeast Asia and even East Asia. The Kra Canal can not only promote connectivity among ASEAN countries, but also promote exchanges between East Asian countries and regions. Yang Lijuan, an associate professor at the School of Economics of Lanzhou University, wrote that the prosperity of global trade, the accelerated economic development in the Asia-Pacific region, and the sharp increase in trade volume have made the construction of the Kra Canal inevitable. The launch of the Kra Canal project is in fact in line with the historical trend of global trade facilitation.
