Galactic Tech Empire

Chapter 328 The Isthmus of Kra
The location proposed by Hiroo Mitsui is the Isthmus of Krakah on the Malay Peninsula.

The Kra Isthmus is a long and narrow strip in the south of Siam, connecting the Indochina Peninsula in the north and the Malay Peninsula in the south. The area about 400 kilometers south of the isthmus (between 7° and 10° north latitude) is Siamese territory, and the narrowest point is more than 50 The widest point is about 190 kilometers. It borders the Gulf of Siam in the east, and the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean to the east; it borders the Andaman Sea in the west and enters the Tianzhu Ocean in the west;

There is no doubt that if a canal is built on the Kra Isthmus, it will not only be of great benefit to Siam, but also to the Northeast Asian countries including Dongtang, which will be of great economic benefit.

At that time, ships do not have to pass through the Strait of Malacca, detour through Malay and Lion City, and can directly enter the Gulf of Siam in the Pacific Ocean from the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean.

Compared with passing through the Strait of Malacca, the voyage is shortened by at least 1200 kilometers, which can save 2-5 days of shipping time.

Of course, compared to pure economy, the role of the Kra Isthmus Canal in geography is particularly obvious. If this canal is built, it will directly change the current geopolitical structure of East Asia.

A crucial weight will be added to the plan of Dongtang and the Galaxy Consortium to establish a new order in East Asia.

In fact, Huang Haojie's thoughts on the Strait of Malacca are very simple and rude, that is, either I can control it, if I can't control it, then this place will be ruined.

The Strait of Malacca is the only way for East Asia and the Indian Ocean sea route, and it is also the only way for oil from West Asia to enter East Asia.

But it is such a sea route that is crucial to the East Asian region, and Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium have little influence at all.

On the contrary, it is Mi Li's family, through in-depth cooperation with Lion City and setting up a security base, they have achieved de facto control over this lifeline at sea.

This is undoubtedly extremely detrimental to Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium, and it is intolerable, especially as the overall power of the East Asian region is increasing day by day, and the game between East and West is becoming increasingly fierce.

To establish a new East Asian order led by itself, it is necessary to change this unfavorable situation that the throat is controlled by others. Although the energy status of oil has declined with the promotion of electric vehicles, oil is now mainly used as a chemical raw material for the country.

However, this vital sea route is controlled by hostile forces, which is also something Huang Haojie cannot tolerate.

Given the Lion City's key position in the Straits of Malacca, if they can be persuaded to remain neutral in this game, the pressure on us will be greatly reduced.

But this is impossible. The reason why the Lion City can achieve today's achievements is in the final analysis determined by its special geographical location.

It is precisely because they guard the throat of the Strait of Malacca and are also a good natural port that Lion City can vigorously develop entrepot trade, and on this basis, high-end industries such as finance have been derived, and the country has leapt into modernization.

However, Dongtang and Yinhe Technology's expansion of their geographical influence constituted a fundamental impact on their existence value.

The current Southeast Asian region has become a key area of ​​the East-West game.

Western countries are a typical maritime civilized country with deep-rooted maritime hegemony; domestic countries have been typical continental civilized countries since ancient times. Although they have undergone continuous transformation since modern times, they are still unable to compete with the West at sea.

Therefore, relying on Yunnan, Guizhou and Lingnan, the country gradually expands its geographical influence on the Indochina Peninsula by means of land advancement.

Through construction projects such as the Pan-Asian High-speed Railway and the Myanmar-Dian pipeline, the geographical connection with the Indochina Peninsula has been continuously strengthened.

Economically, Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium also consciously transferred some low-end industries to Annan, Jianpuzhai and other countries in the Indochina Peninsula to build an economic cooperation circle led by themselves.

With the close connection with the Indochina Peninsula, especially the successive completion of various transportation facilities, the status of the Strait of Malacca in international trade is bound to decline significantly.

We can transport oil, gas and ore from West Asia and Heizhou to Myanmar and Siam, and then transport them to China via railways and pipelines.In terms of distance, this is much shorter than shipping via Malacca; and the same is true for Dongtang's transportation of industrial products to the West.

The close geographical relationship between the Eastern Tang Dynasty and the Indochina Peninsula determined that the control of these land routes was far stronger than that of the Strait of Malacca, which was located at the farthest end of the Indochina Peninsula.

Therefore, using the Indochina Peninsula as a fulcrum to weaken the status of the Strait of Malacca is not only a phased approach to the East-West game, but a long-term strategy that is in line with national interests.

And this strategy is of course unacceptable to the Lion City, which relies on the Strait of Malacca for its survival.

But if the East Asian order is dominated by the Mili family, as a maritime civilized country on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, they will certainly not promote the replacement of land with land in Southeast Asia, and the status of the Strait of Malacca will be guaranteed.

Different ways of expanding geographical influence determine that the contradictions are difficult to reconcile.

Even if the plan to build the Kra Canal fails this time, Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium will still replace Malacca's trade center position as much as possible by means of railways and roads.

Once the Kela Isthmus Canal is completed, the throat status and convenience of the Strait of Malacca will no longer exist, and the Mili family's control over Malacca will lose its practical significance.

Compared with Malacca, seagoing ships sailing through the Kra Isthmus Canal has great advantages in terms of time and cost.

In this case, the allocation of canal waterway resources has become an important weight to determine the future and destiny of East Asia, especially the industrial countries in Northeast Asia.

If the canal was constructed and managed by Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium, then by virtue of their own strength and right to speak, they would be able to intervene in the allocation of canal channel resources to a considerable extent.

This means that Eastern Tang and ships from countries friendly to Eastern Tang can enjoy more benefits of cheap and preferential passage through the canal.

East Asian countries are basically export-oriented economies, and the Indian Ocean route is very important to them.

Of course, the Kra Isthmus Canal is not the only shipping route. All ships can still pass through the Strait of Malacca unimpeded.

The problem is that the extra 1200 kilometers of voyage and 2-5 days will significantly increase the efficiency and cost of these ships.

Of course, the benefits of the Kela Isthmus Canal to Dongtang are not limited to Northeast Asia and the northern part of the South China Sea.

In the southern part of the South China Sea, huge benefits can also be obtained through this.

The way the country expands its geographical influence seriously threatens the status of the Straits of Malacca. Therefore, for the three beneficiary forces in Malacca, the Malay State, Indah, and Lion City, they are of course very wary of us.

At the same time, these three regions are located in the southern part of the South China Sea, relatively alienated from the East Asian continent, and the domestic influence on these regions also appears to be powerless.

However, once the Kra Isthmus Canal is completed, this situation will be greatly changed. The Kra Isthmus Canal will cause the alienation of the actual relationship between the two parties.

However, the emergence of this canal will greatly reduce the status of the Strait of Malacca, which will seriously weaken the geographical value and development space of Malacca.

With the passage of the canal, the pattern in the southern part of the South China Sea will change under the ebb and flow, and Dongtang and the Yinhe Consortium will gain the power and possibility to suppress these three regions and force them to surrender.

In the north, they will use both kindness and power, while in the south, they will use their power to bully each other. Through different means, a new order in East Asia will be established.

If the Kela Isthmus Canal is completed, this strategy will have a wider scope for implementation.

Of course, the construction process of the canal will not be smooth. Before this project, private enterprises came forward to cooperate, but the progress has been dragged on paper.

Now that the Galaxy Consortium wants to intervene, it is conceivable that in the future construction process, it will be obstructed and destroyed by various forces.

However, in view of the important strategic significance of this project, coupled with the strength of the two big rogues, Dongtang and the Galaxy Consortium, it is enough to resist the interference of various forces and allow this project to be carried out smoothly.

(End of this chapter)