"Open bidding, a million profits!"
On December 19, Thai Prime Minister Saitha touted Thailand's official plan, the Land Bridge, as "much more important than the Strait of Malacca."
Such a wild statement has attracted the attention of many countries, and Thailand has carefully selected a suitable "receiver".
At this time, China, which has always been trusted in international engineering projects, entered Thailand's sight and wanted to make it the final "receiver".
However, no country can afford to be profitable.
In the face of such high profits, Thailand is willing to fake others, and there must be demons when things go wrong, and many people even feel that this may lead to the emergence of a "second Philippines".
What does Thailand mean, and what should China do?
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Vested Interest Holders
Since the beginning of this year, the Philippines has repeatedly harassed the mainland in the South China Sea, seriously infringing on the mainland's territorial sovereignty and integrity.
The reason for this is that they have taken a fancy to the hidden oil and gas resources in the South China Sea.
According to the data, 77% of the electricity in the Philippines comes from fossil fuels, of which coal and natural gas account for 59.3%.
A key issue is that most of these oil and gas resources are imported, but the Malapaya gas field, developed by the Philippines in partnership with British Shell, is about to be depleted by 2025.
In other words, if the Philippines wants to maintain a normal life after 2025, it must find new resource exports, or become self-reliant.
In response to this dilemma, the Philippines has made an extreme decision, that is, to let the United States dictate it.
This is closely related to the consistent "pro-American" attitude of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. today. After all, when his father Marcos Sr. was president, he embezzled tens of billions of dollars and led a large family to live in the United States, leaving only the Filipino people to save themselves in the quagmire.
Therefore, the Philippines first took advantage of the small episode in the history of the South China Sea to send a wrecked boat to sit near Ren'ai Jiao, a mainland territory, and during this period, it frequently harassed and even harmed mainland fishermen who were working normally in mainland waters.
If the scheme succeeds, the Philippines will not only have oil and gas resources, but will also be able to hold on to the big tree of the United States, and as far as the United States is concerned, it will encircle its younger brother and consolidate its status as a "world hegemon," and it will also be able to plant a time bomb for the mainland's development and stability.
The Philippines' move can be called a multiplicity.
And the huge interests have lured many small countries in the same predicament to follow suit.
Thailand is one of them, and the recent event has been eager!
If you are eager for quick success, you will eventually return in vain
In 2013, on the basis of the original "Silk Road", China opened up a new trade route, called the "Maritime Belt and Road".
Up to now, 138 countries and 31 international organizations have joined the "Belt and Road" trade projects on land and sea.
Thailand is also in the ranks of cooperation with China.
However, Thailand does not want to go through the equation and wants to ask for more benefits. This was the beginning of the "Land Bridge" program.
The so-called "land bridge" plan refers to the direct construction of roads and railways between Chumphon and Ranong to connect them.
The Thai side promised: "Whoever invests in the construction will get the right to operate for 50 years." ”
In this regard, Thailand not only introduced it to the mainland passionately during the "Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation", but also vigorously promoted it at the "San Francisco APEC Summit" in November, and even Thai Prime Minister Saita personally went to Japan to carry out "bidding" publicity.
Of course, small investors cannot attract the Thai side, and the main reason why they work so hard is to attract China's help.
After all, China has always been committed to win-win cooperation with other countries, and has invested a lot of manpower and material resources, and its achievements in various international projects are also obvious to all.
But will China really not hesitate to participate?
Of course not.
You must know that Thailand's "land bridge" project can be described as stepping on one hand, almost stepping on the "Strait of Malacca", saying that its increasing congestion is likely to affect the global economy when there is serious congestion in the future.
This sentence is suspected of exaggerating the facts.
The "Strait of Malacca" is the most critical maritime transportation channel in the world today, and is known as one of the "six key lock worlds." Although coveted by the US military, it is not completely controlled, and is the mainland's main shipping tool in East Asia and Northeast Asia.
If it is changed rashly, it will inevitably give birth to other evils, and it will also lead to discord between China and Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the three jurisdictions behind the "Strait of Malacca".
If the United States finds another opportunity and opens up another "Philippines" situation, China will only gain more than it loses.
On top of that, Thailand's credibility is in doubt.
The "Land Bridge" plan has not been legally recognized in Thailand and has been opposed by many people. It can be said that this is completely a craze for the Thai government to shave their heads, and has not taken into account the various consequences of the implementation of this plan.
Whoever gets involved in this troublesome matter will have to spend more energy and energy, and maybe even break the fortune to avoid disasters.
Finally, it is this "land bridge" that is costly, probably far more than sea freight.
All in all, the feasibility of Thailand's "land bridge" plan still needs to be considered in many aspects, and it is believed that the relevant mainland authorities will also weigh the pros and cons and make the most appropriate decision.
For Thailand, if it wants to truly complete the economic stride, it must be solved from within, such as stabilizing the political situation and improving people's livelihood. Only when a country is strong can it have the confidence to talk to other countries.