cirr
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This is all part of the One Belt One Road initiative，so stop being a real bitch bitching about it。
China, Thailand to build strategic canal
FERGUS RYAN & AFP
MAY 19, 2015 11:30AM
China and Thailand have agreed to start construction on a canal which will cut through the Malay peninsula linking the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea.
The ambitious project will offer an alternative sea link between Asia with the Middle East and Europe to the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane for world trade.
Chinese and Thai officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Guangzhou this week on a project that is expected to take 10 years to complete for an investment of at least $US28 billion, reports the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily.
The 100 kilometre long ‘Kra Canal' will offer an alternative route from the Straight of Malacca, which passes by Singapore, cutting down the current route by 1,200 kilometres.
Chinese officials described the project as part of the country's proposed "Maritime Silk Road," an effort to revive a trade route running from China through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to Europe.
The Straight of Malacca is one of the world's busiest international shipping lanes with up to 40 per cent of the world’s trade passing through it.
It is of particular strategic significance to China as 80 per cent of the country's oil imports passing through it. At its narrowest point, the Malacca Straight is only 2.7 kilometres long, creating a natural bottleneck.
The announcement comes as tensions between the US and China mount over Chinese island-building in disputed waters.
China has dramatically ramped up its land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea this year, building artificial islands at an unprecedented pace to bolster its territorial claims, US officials say.
The rapid construction of artificial islands in the strategic waters comes to 2,000 acres (800 hectares), with 75 per cent of the total in the last five months.
No Cookies | Herald Sun
China, Thailand to build strategic canal
FERGUS RYAN & AFP
MAY 19, 2015 11:30AM
China and Thailand have agreed to start construction on a canal which will cut through the Malay peninsula linking the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea.
The ambitious project will offer an alternative sea link between Asia with the Middle East and Europe to the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane for world trade.
Chinese and Thai officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Guangzhou this week on a project that is expected to take 10 years to complete for an investment of at least $US28 billion, reports the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily.
The 100 kilometre long ‘Kra Canal' will offer an alternative route from the Straight of Malacca, which passes by Singapore, cutting down the current route by 1,200 kilometres.
Chinese officials described the project as part of the country's proposed "Maritime Silk Road," an effort to revive a trade route running from China through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to Europe.
The Straight of Malacca is one of the world's busiest international shipping lanes with up to 40 per cent of the world’s trade passing through it.
It is of particular strategic significance to China as 80 per cent of the country's oil imports passing through it. At its narrowest point, the Malacca Straight is only 2.7 kilometres long, creating a natural bottleneck.
The announcement comes as tensions between the US and China mount over Chinese island-building in disputed waters.
China has dramatically ramped up its land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea this year, building artificial islands at an unprecedented pace to bolster its territorial claims, US officials say.
The rapid construction of artificial islands in the strategic waters comes to 2,000 acres (800 hectares), with 75 per cent of the total in the last five months.
No Cookies | Herald Sun
