Thailand’s new government has begun to make plans to boost the economy, one of which is to promote the Southern Thailand Land Bridge project.
According to a report by Thailand’s “The Nation” yesterday (November 14), Thailand’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Jayatan said that the Thai government will promote the drafting of the draft after collecting feedback from potential foreign investors at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting this week. A special law to regulate the development of large-scale land bridge projects in southern Thailand.
The Thai government announced in mid-October that it will build a deep-water terminal in Chumphon Province and Ranong Province in southern Thailand, as well as 90 kilometers of roads and railways to connect the two terminals. This project costs 1.4 trillion baht (approximately HK$203 billion) and will begin bidding and construction in 2025. Upon completion, it will connect shipping between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.
Large-scale land bridge project in southern Thailand.
If the large-scale land bridge project in southern Thailand is completed, China’s voyage to the Indian Ocean will be shortened by 1,000 kilometers compared with the Malacca Strait. However, there are also opinions that the “multimodal transport” of the Southern Thailand Land Bridge from sea to land, and then from land to sea involves certain technical difficulties and costs.
Thai Prime Minister Seetha Thakur said on Monday (November 13) when hosting a roadshow for the project in San Francisco that the land bridge will become an alternative to the Strait of Malacca, providing a new east-west channel for global trade worth more than US$38 trillion annually. Currently, all container ships traveling between Asia and Europe must pass through the Strait of Malacca, which carries about 40% of global trade.
Prime Minister of Thailand Seetha Thak.
Seta said that the Malacca Strait is expected to reach its maximum shipping capacity by 2030. If congestion occurs, it may seriously affect the global economy. “The land bridge will become a new route to support transportation and an important solution to the problem of the Malacca Strait.”
He added that the land bridge would connect the Pacific and Indian Oceans, help reduce transportation costs and time, and ensure safety. The project will also stimulate Thailand’s economy, create 280,000 jobs and increase the country’s GDP by 5.5% annually.
Jayatan revealed that U.S. investors were interested in this infrastructure project, so the Thai government hosted a roadshow during the APEC meeting to promote the project to leaders and investors.
“We need a special law to regulate this project, like the law on the Eastern Economic Corridor. We will compile the opinions collected from the exhibition and see what can be done under the current law and what special laws are needed,” he said.
Jayatan added that the Thai government will draft a special law for the large-scale project within two years, including legislating to establish an agency to promote the project and then invite foreign investors to participate.
The geographical location of the southern land bridge in Thailand.Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” picture
Despite the Thai government’s efforts to advance the project, Thai civil society and local residents have criticized the project. Protests have been ongoing since the land bridge plan was proposed during the administration of former Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
According to Thai Public Television (TPBS), Thai academics, environmentalists and local residents affected by the project recently jointly released a document titled “4 Reasons to Oppose the Chumphon-Ranong Land Bridge.”
The document criticized the southern Thailand land bridge project for being costly but not calculative. Using the land bridge for transportation would incur higher costs and would take longer than sailing through the Straits of Malacca because containers would need to be unloaded from ships to trains and then shipped again. Loaded from train to ship.
The document also criticized the Southern Thailand Land Bridge as being inappropriately located and causing severe impacts on residents and the environment.
Chaichan Chareonsuk, chairman of the Thai National Shippers Council (TNSC), said that the advancement of the project will be hindered by as many as 17 legal issues on transit control. If modifications and adjustments are not made, it will have an impact on the implementation of the project. , resulting in a waste of time and cost.
Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” reported that since the “multimodal transport” of the Southern Land Bridge from sea to land, and from land to sea involves certain technical difficulties and operating costs, the cost-effectiveness it can bring to enterprises will not be better than that of the Strait of Malacca. high.
Yu Hong, a senior researcher at the Institute of East Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, said that the Southern Thailand Land Bridge adopts a multimodal transport concept, which means that the transportation process must be converted between sea and land twice, involving logistics and time costs. Making the conversion process seamless requires a high degree of coordination and smooth customs clearance.
“Although the Southern Thailand Land Bridge can potentially save more than 1,000 kilometers of voyage, the cost savings may also be offset by the change of equipment in this different mode of transportation, so it is not as low as the cost of traveling through the Strait of Malacca.”
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Biden received Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the White House, but was “face-reprimanded.” Joko called on the United States to take more action to stop atrocities in Gaza and stressed that a ceasefire was necessary. Biden pondered after hearing this, and the scene was awkward.
Biden. AP pictures
The Mainland political commentary public account “Niutanqin” pointed out that there are several meaningful details in this incident: First, Joko criticized the United States in public, saying that the United States did too little on the Gaza issue; second, Joko mentioned the impact of the ceasefire on the issue of Gaza. The importance of humanitarianism. Such a speech makes people think about how much the United States has done in this regard. Third, Biden was unable to respond and could only accept it in embarrassment.
According to reports from Western media, before the China-US Summit in San Francisco, Biden’s original intention of specifically inviting Jokowi to visit the White House was to strengthen relations between the United States and Indonesia. This was an unusual move.
Biden receives Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the White House. AP pictures
Therefore, during the meeting, Biden emphasized the friendly cooperation between the two countries from the beginning and expressed vigilance towards China. The relationship between the United States and Indonesia has also been upgraded to a “global strategic partnership.” Biden said: “This marks a new era in the comprehensive relationship between the United States and Indonesia, which will affect everything.” The United States announced that it will expand its military, important minerals, and semiconductor supply It is self-evident who some of these cooperations are aimed at.
However, the leader the White House welcomed seemed less than cooperative. As well as talking about cooperation, there was also talk of divisions, and issues that would embarrass Biden were raised. An Agence France-Presse article stated: “The meeting between the two took a turn for the worse.” Why do you say that? Quite simply, the Israeli-Palestinian war is still going on, Gaza is still crying, the United States firmly supports Israel, and Indonesia is completely on the Palestinian side.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country, and Jokowi has just participated in the Arab-Islamic summit sponsored by Saudi Arabia to condemn Israel’s aggression. In addition, Indonesia also built a hospital in Gaza, which was also bombed by the Israeli army not long ago, which made Indonesia furious.
At the Saudi summit, in addition to denounced Israeli atrocities, Joko also hugged Palestinian President Abbas. How will he respond after his visit to Washington? Joko must say something face to face, otherwise Indonesia’s status in the Islamic world will be questioned. In order to reassure other Islamic countries, Joko specifically stated in Saudi Arabia that Indonesia is open to cooperation with other countries. In addition to pursuing peace and humanitarianism, Indonesia does not stand on the side of any power. Therefore, in front of the White House, Joko publicly stated that he would convey a “very strong message” about the Saudi summit to Biden, and said that Palestinian President Abbas also asked him to convey “a specific message” to the White House.
What is this message? Joko did not elaborate, but generally urged the United States not to take sides and to do better.
Therefore, we saw that Biden warmly received Joko, but Joko questioned him on the spot in front of the White House fire, which made Biden feel embarrassed.
As for Biden’s special invitation to Jokowi to visit the White House before the Sino-US summit, Jokowi naturally saw this intention to win over. Therefore, after meeting Biden, he immediately posted two sentences on social media, which were profound.
The first sentence Joko said was: “I told Biden that I sincerely hope that the United States can play a leadership role and stand on the basis of the “two-state solution” to defend justice and humanity for the Palestinian people, maintain peace and Palestinian independence. “
In the second sentence, Joko said: “I appreciate the good development of the United States and China. I believe dialogue is the key to bridging differences…”
In summary, there are several key points worth noting.
First, Joko is not a simple person.
Indonesian President Joko. AP pictures
He was thin, but lithe. He has visited China twice recently, and China-Indonesia relations have entered a new stage; now that he has gone to the White House again, U.S.-Indonesia relations are gradually improving.
In addition, what Joko said in the White House made the Palestinian people happy and showed that Indonesia is a reliable friend. As for the United States’ wooing, Joko also implies something, that is, he does not stand on the side of any powerful power, and he hopes that Sino-US relations will improve, which makes us very happy.
These remarks reflect Joko’s position as Indonesia’s leader and his concern for international affairs.
Second, Biden has encountered some embarrassments recently.
He enthusiastically courted Indonesia, but was criticized to his face in front of Jokowi. In the past, the United States always blamed the whole world, but now even countries like Indonesia and Chile dare to rebuke the United States in person.
why? Because of recent U.S. policies, even U.S. officials are dissatisfied.
Recently, the White House administration has frequently caused trouble. Wave after wave of US government officials have written joint letters to Biden and Blinken, demanding that the United States seek a ceasefire in Gaza and not ignore humanitarianism. There are also some angry US officials who have simply resigned and no longer serve as officials in the Biden administration.
The bloody facts in Gaza reveal the double standards and unfair treatment of the West. Joko’s speech was in response to this. He hopes that the United States can stand on the basis of the two-state solution, defend justice and humanity for the Palestinian people, and maintain peace.
Third, China still needs to be wary of U.S. actions in sowing discord.
The United States has only shown a small move by wooing Indonesia, but it is foreseeable that the United States will definitely increase similar moves in the future. They will try to win over countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India.
On the one hand, China certainly needs to be vigilant and take corresponding countermeasures. At the same time, it also needs to be more confident that true friends will not be pulled away. Moreover, these countries are not stupid and will choose their own side, especially considering the benefits of siding with the United States.
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2023-11-15 04:13:07