Thailand's Kra Isthmus and Elusive Canal Plans since the 1850s

Abstract

This article uses primarily British colonial documents and Singapore sources to examine the history of proposals for the construction of a shipping canal through Thailand's Kra Isthmus from the 1850s. It provides historical background for continuing interest in constructing a Kra canal with the most recent speculative discussions involving Chinese interests. Since the 1850s the idea of a canal was revived on numerous occasions with several detailed surveys conducted over this time to assess the feasibility of a shipping canal via the Kra Isthmus. This research examines how speculation and actual proposals were handled by the British colonial authorities and how this related to the British policy of using Siam/Thailand as a buffer state separating their colonies and those of their European rival France. In colonial Singapore canal proposals created great angst and to some extent this has continued to be the case to the present day. The article suggests that while British colonial policy was always against, or at least not in favour of, the construction of a canal, other factors are equally important for explaining why canal proposals never proceeded beyond planning and surveys.

Kra canal project and its influence on world maritime trade

“…Doobs 9 doubted that Kra Canal would be constructed due to the antithesis from the cost, Thailand political situation and sovereignty based on British Colonial Documents and Singapore sources. For information, there were two coups in 2006 and 2014 in Thailand that means internal situation in Thailand was unstable and affected the investment sector.…”

Thailand's Kra Isthmus and Elusive Canal Plans since the 1850s – ERRATUM

“…The first sentence of the above publication (Dobbs 2016: 165) incorrectly listed the geographical region “Isthmus of Kra” in lowercase form “isthmus of kra” due to a typographical error. We apologize for this oversight.…”

Impacts of the Thai canal on liner shipping container network

“…Both countries were granted permission to survey the area from the Siamese government, which was the former name of Thailand. However, the project was not pursued due to political problems between Thailand, Britain, and France, as well as the high cost of construction (Dobbs, 2016). Following World War II, Thailand (still named Siam at the time) was expressly prohibited from constructing the Kra Canal under a peace treaty clause enacted by Britain in 1946.…”