Thailand Seizes On Hormuz Fears To Push Land Bridge Dream

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, south of Bangkok.

The road, rail and pipelines could traverse Thailand's coast-to-coast southern isthmus 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 800-kilometer-long Strait of Malacca, which usually refers to two straits, including the adjacent, additional 105-kilometer-long Strait of Singapore.

Those straits link the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea with the South China Sea and the 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 sail through the crowded straits each day. 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 US 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% 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 US 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 US pressures Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to restrict shipping through the strait which is also used by the US 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 that traversing the land bridge will take so much time for loading, unloading and overland transport across the peninsula that it won't save much money for shippers.

Opposition politicians, meanwhile, are sharpening their knives, with Democrat deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij among many who see the project as economically unfeasible.

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.