Strait of Hormuz Blockades & Thailand's Land Bridge

BANGKOK, Thailand -- While Asia suffers from the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Bangkok is offering Beijing, Singapore and others a planned multi-billion dollar "Land Bridge" across Thailand's thin peninsula, to link shipping between the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand instead of south through the equatorial Strait of Malacca.

China, the U.S. and other countries could use the 56-mile-long (90 km) Land Bridge for commercial, military and other shipping, potentially reducing fuel costs and time on routes to and from the Persian Gulf and South China Sea.

Beijing's use of the proposed shorter shipping route could also help China if the U.S. blockades the Strait of Malacca during a regionwide conflict over Taiwan or other issues.

Thailand's newly reelected "Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has pointed to growing uncertainty around key maritime chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz, as justification for moving the project forward," the Bangkok Post said in a Wednesday (April 29) editorial.

"The government is also preparing a series of international roadshows to attract foreign investment," the paper said.

Singapore's Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing met Mr. Anutin Monday (April 27) in Bangkok to discuss the Land Bridge and other issues.

"They recognize the project's potential and the opportunities it could create for Thailand and the wider region if it proceeds," said Bangkok's government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek.

The project's supporters say the Land Bridge could also fit into China's Belt and Road Initiative by linking to Thailand's existing railway lines and highways which are slowly being upgraded.

Some of those Thai lines feed in and out of Laos where Chinese-built high-speed trains already zip across northern Laos linking the tiny communist country to southern China.

To avoid depending too heavily on China, Thailand opened the Land Bridge project to international investors, attracting interest from India, Dubai, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere including port developers, shipping lines, and real estate developers.

Funding would come from private and public sources.

Boosters say the Land Bridge would include a sleek, dedicated superhighway supported by modern warehouses and facilities, plus oil and natural gas pipelines and a fast rail line running parallel alongside the road.

Thailand's west coast port at Ranong on the Andaman Sea would be connected to the east coast port at Chumphon on the Gulf of Thailand, just south of Bangkok.

The road, rail, and pipelines could traverse Thailand's northern part of the Malay Peninsula coast-to-coast in only a few hours, supporters said.

Several additional hours would be required for loading and unloading.

Ships transiting between the Persian Gulf to and from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and elsewhere in eastern Asia could dock at either port.

There, waiting ships could continue carrying the cargo to international destinations.

Currently, ships coming from the Persian Gulf to eastern Asia must veer south into the Indian Ocean and skirt much of Southeast Asia.

They then head toward the 500-mile-long (800-km) Strait of Malacca which usually refers to two straits -- including the adjacent, additional 65-mile-long (105-km) Strait of Singapore.

Those straits link the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea with the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean.

Ships from Hormuz first pass through the Strait of Malacca which is wedged between Indonesia's northern Sumatra island and the Malay Peninsula, including Singapore.

Ships continuing on to China and elsewhere in eastern Asia -- mostly deepwater vessels -- must then squeeze through the narrower Strait of Singapore before reaching the South China Sea.

Hundreds of ships each day sail through the crowded straits.

Malaysia and Indonesia control the Strait of Malacca on opposite shores, along the waterway's western and central side.

Singapore controls the Strait of Singapore which is on the east side and, of the two, is more liable to congestion or a chokehold.

All three countries have close military, economic and diplomatic links with the U.S. while also balancing their relations with China.

After exiting the straits, ships from the Persian Gulf bound for eastern Asia must then turn north again to pass Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, before finding harbors along the coast of China and the region's other ports.

More than 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Malacca each day.

In recent years, slightly more crude oil and petroleum liquids transited the Strait of Malacca compared with the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The Strait of Malacca "is the primary chokepoint in Asia and Oceania," the EIA said.

All countries can use the Strait of Malacca but China could become vulnerable if the U.S. pressures Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to restrict shipping through the strait which is also used by the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Bangkok meanwhile is also trumpeting the Land Bridge's potential to turn Thailand into a marine fuel supply base and petroleum refiner, which in turn could attract more international investment.

Opponents insist transversing the Land Bridge will take so much time loading, unloading, and transporting overland across the peninsula that it won't save much money for shippers.

Supporters however point out that the Strait of Malacca also often involves loading, unloading, and transshipping to break up large loads into smaller pieces because many goods need to be delivered to several countries, and not to only one final destination.

"Vessels already stop to unload and transfer cargo at hubs such as Singapore," said Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, who is also a deputy prime minister.

If a ship needs to link with less frequented ports in, for example, Indonesia, then it is often loaded or unloaded at Singapore, or Malaysia's Port Klang and Sumatra's Belawan docks.

Local vessels link up at those ports to transport cargo to and from scattered, smaller, nearby destinations.

Big tankers can pass through the Strait of Malacca and Strait of Singapore without much delay.

Environmentalists meanwhile warn of a vast disaster to underwater life including coral, fish, and microscopic creatures across the deep Andaman Sea and shallow Gulf of Thailand from oil spills, industrial pollution, and other toxins.

The underwater destruction would also severely impact Thailand's extensive fishing industry and international tourism which are major revenue sources, environmentalists said.

The sheer size of the two ports would require massive land reclamation and a dozen reservoirs for water.

Local residents at both ports and along the corridor would need resettlement and compensation.

The entire project could cost more than $30 billion, Thai Senator Norasate Prachyakorn told parliament Monday (April 27).

The modest facilities at Ranong and Chumphon would need reconstruction to become deep-sea ports capable of handling big ships.

Bangkok has been touting the Land Bridge for several years without much traction or committed investment.

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Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books, "Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. -- Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York" and "Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers & Freaks" are available at
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