China wants a canal to cross Thailand into the Indian Ocean

[donnacha]

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Vast financial advantages in not having to go around Singapore. Days shorter, less fuel burned to Europe and East coast America.

I would not say vast. The Straits of Malacca are right there, just below the proposed entry point to the canal. Also, traversing a canal of that distance would not be as fast as sailing the same distance in open seas. There would be a lot of stopping and starting as you wait for locks to be drained.

Probably some saving of time and fuel, but really nothing close to justifying the massive cost. What they really want to avoid is a key choke point controlled by their only regional competitor.
 

[donnacha]

14 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No, they could use a submarine to blow up a ship at the entrance to the canal.

Any attack by a US sub would be obvious and could not be officially denied. It would be an overt act of war, upon a third country's oil tanker and creating massive environmental damage in the sovereign territory of a fourth country (Thailand), possibly at a stage before the dispute had even gone hot.
 

 

14 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Anyway, if America is at war ( at any level ) with China, Thais will have more important things to worry about.

Thailand will keep its head down, as it has been doing for centuries. Any Thai subs will, regrettably, be undergoing essential maintenance that month.
 

 

14 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Are the Burmese hill tribes Muslim?

I don't know. I think, like the Thai hill tribes, quite a few are Christian converts.

There are certainly other Muslims in Burma, many of them aggrieved.

Is there actually an pipeline that runs through Burma, from the Andaman sea to China? I would have imagined that would be difficult terrain.
 

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, donnacha said:

What I meant by Muslim separatists was the ones in the south. Nothing to stop them traveling up to take out a pipeline, just as they have traveled up in the past to place bombs in Bangkok.

I think they'd find it a bit harder to travel to Burma, which is where I said the pipeline should be.

[donnacha]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I think they'd find it a bit harder to travel to Burma, which is where I said the pipeline should be.

Yeah, sorry, I was confused about where you were placing the pipeline, and have amended my comment.

Essentially, Burma has been in a state of inter-ethnic war for all of its modern existence, and it would be reasonably easy for the CIA to find a militia willing to do the job for a few million stuffed into duffel bags.

 

[donnacha]

Yes, there are existing, operational gas and oil lines right across Myanmar, between Kyaukpyu on the Bay of Bengal and the city of Kunming in Yunnan province, China. There are plans to increase the capacity of the oil lines over the coming decade.

More information here: Sino-Myanmar pipelines

 

 

[josephbloggs]

6 hours ago, donnacha said:

Ah, so, you're going to double-down on your mistake? I applaud your commitment to the role.

The thing is, you are the first and only poster in over 12 pages of discussion to take issue with that particular line. Everyone else is aware that, over the past decade, there has been a serious build up of military capacity in the South China Sea. There is also no justification for the Kra canal other than military. China's military planning has been the one agreed factor throughout this entire discussion.

So, it turns out that the suggestion that the Chinese might view war with the US as "credible future possibility" (note the word POSSIBILITY) is only disputed by two members, both of whom made almost identical posts within the same minute, several days into the discussion. What a stunning coincidence.

Not one other member posted for several hours before, or several hours after your posts. You and "josephbloggs" have had a true meeting of minds, not just in uniquely taking exception to the same uncontroversial sentence, but also identical timing and identical words in your response to it. You guys should do coffee sometime.

Allow this one to rest. You made a mistake that anyone juggling two accounts could make, but it is very, very obvious what happened. Trying to deny the obvious only makes you look worse. Mutually Liking your own posts was particularly embarrassing.

Anyway, this thread is dead, very few people will notice, why keep digging and drawing attention to your blunder? Go in peace.


 

It's always hilarious when a poster convinces himself of a conspiracy theory then struts around gloating about it over several posts when he is completely wrong.  I can barely be bothered maintaining one account on here it is so depressingly negative and bitter, let alone two.

Ever considered that two people might disagree with you and perhaps the second one was reinforcing an earlier post in an amusing way?  You really need to get out more and stop living out fantasies in your mind and prancing about like Sherlock Holmes.

Your inference / suggestion that if China told Thailand to build a canal across the Kra Isthmus they would have no choice but to build it is ludicrous nonsense.  I guess you're another one that likes to parrot the "Thailand is another province of China" line whenever anything comes up related to China.  It's quite boring.

So, yes, please feel free to refute my argument instead of just making up silly conspiracy theories.  To imagine anyone would be so obsessed with you that they would create a second account to talk to you is quite pathetic, but not as pathetic as the sad prancing and boasting about having "caught" us.  Grow up.

[tifino]

On 9/4/2020 at 10:40 AM, webfact said:

China wants a canal to cross Thailand into the Indian Ocean

oh dear! - they really do intend to Shaft Thailand!!

[tifino]

On 9/4/2020 at 11:24 AM, Enki said:

On 9/4/2020 at 11:11 AM, cmarshall said:

Hardly relevant after Singapore's independence in 1965.  Anyway, the Thai government will never agree to a canal across the Kra Isthmus.

Hard to say, they would make a fortune on the passage fees.

I could see a coupla new Southern Thai islamic states annexing the 'islands' in the middle 

 

 

and the locals then float massive rice paddy sidewalk markets, to restrict passage...

[Skylight]

17 minutes ago, tifino said:

I could see a coupla new Southern Thai islamic states annexing the 'islands' in the middle 

 

 

and the locals then float massive rice paddy sidewalk markets, to restrict passage...

 

Like the new Panama Canal in Nicaragua that went nowhere after almost a decade .  This one will go nowhere.

 

 

[Airbagwill]

7 hours ago, donnacha said:

serious build up of military capacity in the South China Sea.

by the Americans - you don't have a clue

[Airbagwill]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Vast financial advantages in not having to go around Singapore. Days shorter, less fuel burned to Europe and East coast America.

This is apparently not true - as said the other canals are bypassing continents the Khra would just be a short diversion therefore the charges would be restricted and traffic minimal

[Airbagwill]

8 hours ago, donnacha said:

Any attack by a US sub would be obvious and could not be officially denied. It would be an overt act of war, upon a third country's oil tanker and creating massive environmental damage in the sovereign territory of a fourth country (Thailand), possibly at a stage before the dispute had even gone hot.
 

 

Thailand will keep its head down, as it has been doing for centuries. Any Thai subs will, regrettably, be undergoing essential maintenance that month.
 

 

I don't know. I think, like the Thai hill tribes, quite a few are Christian converts.

There are certainly other Muslims in Burma, many of them aggrieved.

Is there actually an pipeline that runs through Burma, from the Andaman sea to China? I would have imagined that would be difficult terrain.
 

The \Southern provinces are culturally \malay and muslim, cutting a groove between Thailand and these provinces would actually help the separatists - this is something the military government won't tolerate. Giving up those provinces would stop the attacks but any \Thai government would lose too much face - this and this alone is enough to stop any canal