Possible conflict for Singapore
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There have been talk of constructing a canal similar to that of the Suez and Panama canal in the Ismuthus of Kra in Southern Thailand since the idea is being brought up in the 1800s. The aim is for shipping to bypass the Straits of Malacca and directly to East Asia.This will definitely save time and money. However, its construction have not been been carried out due to several reasons.
Recently there is a report saying that China is secretly planning to finance its construction and have Chinese ports and naval bases in that region. This is a direct threat to Singapore as we will lose our strategic postion as the stop-over point for all shipping passing through Straits of Malacca.
How will Singapore react to this threat? What can we do to prevent such thing from happening?
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launch our gundams....and our Evas....Originally posted by tankee1981:There have been talk of constructing a canal similar to that of the Suez and Panama canal in the Ismuthus of Kra in Southern Thailand since the idea is being brought up in the 1800s. The aim is for shipping to bypass the Straits of Malacca and directly to East Asia.This will definitely save time and money. However, its construction have not been been carried out due to several reasons.
Recently there is a report saying that China is secretly planning to finance its construction and have Chinese ports and naval bases in that region. This is a direct threat to Singapore as we will lose our strategic postion as the stop-over point for all shipping passing through Straits of Malacca.
How will Singapore react to this threat? What can we do to prevent such thing from happening? -
Doom is coming...its imminent...
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Not so soon.Thai has spoken it for more than 50 years
Thailand problems
How can they allow a canal to divide the country into two in the middle?
How to solve the transport btw north and south parts?
hOW MANY swing bridges they need to build to across the canal?
Or they build many tunnels or over head bridges to across?....
3. Myanmar demand--legal or illegal
If the canal is completed,all ships may sail through Myanmar water.
Will she demand any fee? This government is highly unpredictable,
like moving the capital to a mountain location without foods/houses to
civil servants.....
The Sg party is just begun.
Though many challenges ahead,our resources are
much better than 40 years ago. -
Thailand will not cut off it's south.
Thai Navy has an aircraft carrier and Chinese navy are a force to be reckoned with , Soveremny class destroyers..
Are you out of your mind?
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If a tsunami comes again , China will jeopardise itself.
Badly. -
Originally posted by SMAPLionHeart:Thailand will not cut off it's south.
Thai Navy has an aircraft carrier 
The CV is Has been largely inactive due to lack of crew and operating funds. click here.
Janes Fighting Ships confirm this.
A CV without proper protection is a big floating coffin.
Can That provide protection?
Can their pilots land and take off fr CV,If not,the
CV's value is much decreased.
Dunt judge the usefulness of a platform by its name. -
It still has a power projection capability
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tentatively speaking, power projection means SHIT when the fur starts flyingOriginally posted by SMAPLionHeart:It still has a power projection capability
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is the conflict between S'pore & M'sia regarding whether to build a new causeway settled?
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Can you consider building a canal in Thailand a threat??? threat from whom? Thailand or China, or whoever fund the construction??Originally posted by tankee1981:There have been talk of constructing a canal similar to that of the Suez and Panama canal in the Ismuthus of Kra in Southern Thailand since the idea is being brought up in the 1800s. The aim is for shipping to bypass the Straits of Malacca and directly to East Asia.This will definitely save time and money. However, its construction have not been been carried out due to several reasons.
Recently there is a report saying that China is secretly planning to finance its construction and have Chinese ports and naval bases in that region. This is a direct threat to Singapore as we will lose our strategic postion as the stop-over point for all shipping passing through Straits of Malacca.
How will Singapore react to this threat? What can we do to prevent such thing from happening?
Can we tell Thailand now that if you build the canal, our strategic position is threaten, so we will go to war, like we said to malaysia about water?? I doubt so.
If Boeing or Airbus build a jet that would fly directly from JKT, cities in Australia directly to Japan and Europe, bypassing singapore, rendering our hub less useful, can we tell Beoing and Airbus, "Your are threatening us"??
think again about the use of the word "threat". -
Several reason why the canal will not be a threat.
1. Ships are different from what they are 100 years ago when raffles came. They can travel for miles without stopping. Why bother to have a port of call that does not have the infrastructure and need to be established when there is one easily available.
2. But having the canal, Thailand will be seriously compromsing their control in the south especially with a muslim south and a buddist north. Remeber the 2003-4 uprising in the south of thailand b4 the tsunami thingy started? Doubt the thais wanna to do something like that. Even with China's backing.
3. Singapore is no more the same Singapore when we were independent where we are the mainly entrepot state like Hong Kong. Our government has concentrated on other stuffs such as manufacturing and finanical services. All these are not depend on the shipping lines. At the same time, airplanes with more important airports are more important to trade.
4. Agreed Mynamar government is a little crazy, then if u study burmese history all their kings abdicate as a result of going crazy near the end of their rule.
Maybe they have their reason for changing their capital?? No idea why though.
My 2 cents worth -
there has been speculation going on too that the chinese will finance a deep water port in Burma and an oil pipeline that runs from the burmese coast up into china .... along with a naval base of course ..... now maybe people can understand why we're fighting the chinese for influence in burma .... it would be disasterous for south east asia if the chinese can establish themselves militarily from the south china sea to the indian ocean .....
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power projection?...Originally posted by SMAPLionHeart:It still has a power projection capability
it onli carries harriers....wat power projection???its not a nimitz class u noe.... -
don't think we can win much influence though... what can we offer other than a few hi and bye by our ministers. And maybe some investments.Originally posted by Fatum:there has been speculation going on too that the chinese will finance a deep water port in Burma and an oil pipeline that runs from the burmese coast up into china .... along with a naval base of course ..... now maybe people can understand why we're fighting the chinese for influence in burma .... it would be disasterous for south east asia if the chinese can establish themselves militarily from the south china sea to the indian ocean .....
but china can offer lots of investments + some military goodies maybe in the future -
Even with a tiny carrier like theirs , they are more then able to smack any city halfway around the world away.
It would also contribute to UN operations , who needs SG's C-130 / LST when you can deploy an aircraft carrier ? -
I can say that if we want to move beyond being threatened by a deepwater port, we have to evolve beyond our physical hinterland very very much and place much greater emphasis in transforming ourselves into a city that is more closer to the upper 2nd tier in sphere of influence.
That also means we have to be in tune with the international climate.You cannot be a global city and look inwards too often. -
Should such a canal be constructed it will present a serious challenge to our port as a large part of shipping which will bypass us. This constitutes a large loss of revenue as Singapore is the one of if not the busiest port in the world. Economic challege will present itself as a threat to our economic security (part of Total Defence) and hence a threat to Singapore.
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The Kra canal will be bad for Malaysia as well. Perhaps it would shake those chaps in Putrajaya back to their senses and make them cooperate with us instead of going head-to-head.
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Building of Kras Canal is technical feasible but politically a definite "no-go".
The first question for any builder of Kras Canal will face:
Which nation will control the access and gurantee the security of the Kras Canal?
If Kras Canal is to be build, the water way will be very similar to the Suez Canal. The narrow waterway is very prone to security problems eg terror attacks on high value targets in the waterway.
The US, Jap and China, European or even the Aust and Indian would want a piece of pie from the Kras Canal....this will put Thailand in a very delicate balance points btw all these world and regional powerhouses.
No matter which powers is behind the Kras Canal, there will only be troubles in the Thai soils esp the insurgents will step up their activities in the south to pressurise Thailand gov to grant them independence in the south. This will create immediate plotical unrest in northen Malaysia states and southern Thailand. I am confident to say that this Kras Canal will unbalance the struggle btw the secular muslim and the die-hard fundermentalists.
The die-hard fundermentalists will find a new power base to spread their ideology throughout the SE Asia. More importantly, the building of Kras canal will have the follwoing negative impacts on Thailand Gov:
1) The drain of valuable resources that can be used to combat the poverty in the south. This funds can swing the tides in combating the insurgents separists movement in the southern Thailand.
2) Kras Canal will certainly attracts foreign investors and gov to the south Thailand. This move is certainly unwise, as the presence of foreigners might create social pressure points in the south Thailand.
3) Thailand gov will be put on the international lime lights once Kras Canals graps the main headline in major international press. This will certainly limit the Thailand gov effort in combating terrorism in the south.
4) Local muslim political leaders will have more excuses to ask for more freedom from the Thailand gov. This is certainly untolerable for many Thais.
5) Worsen relationship btw Malaysia and Thainland due to economical advantages from the Kras Canal. Thailand gov worries over growing influences of local muslim population and their cosy relationship with Malaysia as well. -
We are "kiasu"
We will sure think of something..... -
What kind of possible scenario will the SAF engage in an armed conflict due to such a construction?
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just get PSA and Temasek holdings to buy all the ports along the Kra Canal. so even if they stop at kra canal, they will still have to pay for singapore services. the only bad thing is that we have to employ their people to work in our port.
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For SAF to project all the way to the kra?
Wow... A bit hard to imagine. I would guess we would be limited to Air-Strikes only. And perhaps only the F-15Ts could hit it with a reasonable amount of payload. F-16s perhaps with refueling support.
Our Navy dun have carriers of any variants, and sending LSTs there without air cover would not be wise.
Special Operations team can insert, but may not be able to extract. 1 way ticket not smart also.
A full up along the peninsular... just for that???
I think we save the money to be spent on direction and use it for other purpose better lar hor. -
The Kra Canal, as it's commonly referred to in the Maritime industry, was suppose to be built a long time ago. Word on the street is that the Burmese govt was "paid off" so that they would hold back construction. Recently, they have been looking into the idea of using it as a landbridge insead of having to dig up a canal..