Word of a sudden Thai-Chinese deal to cut a shipping channel across the south Thailand evaporated quickly today.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmen today dispelled media reports in his country that the two nations had agreed in principal to construct a THB941 billion (USD28 billion) canal across the Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand as a new shipping route to shortcut the Straight of Malacca.
Spokesman Hong Lei repreated comments made by the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, reiterating China has not taken any role in the long-dreamed-of project, according to The Straights Times.
“China will have to consider the feedback from countries such as Singapore, which it has friendly ties with, given the impact that the Kra canal might have,” Zhao Hong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies told the newspaper.
Some see the canal as a major boost for trade and the region, while others warn it will be an enormous environmental catastrophe.
