During the Second World War, Japan occupied Singapore for a time, and recently there has been a rhythm of stabbing Singapore, because Japan has intervened in the "land bridge" project in Thailand's public bidding. From its humble beginnings as a fishing village of a few hundred people, Singapore has become a major player in the Asia-Pacific region by holding the Straits of Malacca, and is one of the strongest countries in ASEAN in terms of economic power and military power. Singapore is located at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca, thus allowing it to control the entire Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca is an important trade route because it is an important sea route connecting East Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe.
Recently, Thailand has put out a public tender, and Thailand has proposed to build the so-called "land bridge" project, according to data released by Thailand, the construction of the "land bridge" connecting the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand will require an investment of 29 billion US dollars. Thailand has already extended an invitation to the Japanese consortium and claimed that it can recoup its investment within 24 years, and Thailand has publicly promised to offer investors a 40-year concession, so the terms offered are very generous. In fact, Thailand had previously built a canal to connect the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea, which would have saved four days of shipping time, but now Thailand has changed its strategy and abandoned the Isthmus Canal project in favor of a land corridor to transport goods.
Thailand's public bidding for the "land bridge" project is also quite a stab at Singapore's rhythm, because if the "land bridge" project is opened, it is tantamount to robbing Singapore's business, and Singapore's prosperity is based on shipping in the Strait of Malacca. Singapore has created an economic miracle by relying on important maritime corridors, and now Thailand is also building prosperity through the "land bridge", and at the stage of China's rise, Thailand sees it as a great opportunity, so it has pushed for tenders for the "land bridge" project. If Thailand's "land bridge" project is completed, the status of the Strait of Malacca will be greatly reduced, and at the same time, Singapore's strategic position will be sharply reduced, so Singapore will try its best to obstruct the implementation of the project.
With the Thai Aphai Party in charge of Thai politics, now the Thai government attaches great importance to the direction of economic development, for which there is a "land bridge" project to promote, Thailand is very aware of the current international situation, when the United States is actively encircling and containing China, the Strait of Malacca is an important waterway for the United States to deter, as the United States in the Asia-Pacific "spokesperson" Singapore is bound to obey the United States' "arrangement", in fact, from the signing of a bilateral military agreement between Singapore and the United States, it can be seen that Singapore is for the United States' "Indo-Pacific strategy" Waving the flag and shouting, the US military can deter both the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean through its military base in Singapore, thereby establishing a deterrent to China.
Thailand's promotion of the "land bridge" project is tantamount to giving China a new channel, but also to Japan a new opportunity, because both China and Japan need to connect the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean channel, the "land bridge" is much safer than the strait, for which Thailand has publicly invited the Japanese consortium to invest in Thailand's "land bridge" project. However, as far as the relationship between Japan and the United States is concerned, the Japanese soldiers do not dare to bypass the Strait of Malacca directly, so they will not actively participate in related projects, after all, Japan is siding with the United States.