The Scramble for Concessions in 1880s Siam

Brailey, Nigel J.

doi:10.1017/s0026749x99003418

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Moreover, the irony of the ideal of free trade is further deepened when scholars today attribute Burma's eventual loss of independence in 1885 to Britain to the Bombay-Burmah Trading Corporation, where the Corporation played a "central role". 69 iii. the law and politics of the cheek v. siam arbitration (1898)…”

Section: B Colonial Corporations Between Trojan Horses and Unicornsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of International Law, Semi-colonial Thailand, and Imperial Ghosts

Singh¹

2018

AsianJIL

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I argue that contextually reading two disputes involving Siam—Cheek v. Siam (1898) and the Temple of Preah Vihear (1962)—proves that both private law and public international law are structurally rigged against ex-semi-colonial nations. Nineteenth-century Siam was a political ferment known variously as a semi-colonial, semi-peripheral, non-colonial, or uncolonized polity. Siam bargained under imperial shadows her political independence by the tactical grants of concession contracts, as well as by negotiating treaties with competing European powers. In the post-colonial Temple of Preah Vihear case, colonial stationery—maps, photographs, and communiqués—as well as imperial customs offered evidentiary support to Cambodia, an ex-colonial state, against Thailand. In the early twentieth century, while authors picked Cheek v. Siam as a precedent for the law of international claims, textbooks offer the Temple of Preah Vihear case as a precedent on the form of treaties and estoppel. Conclusively, these two cases allow us to locate, if not exorcise, the ghosts of empires in Asian legal history, exposing, at the same time, Judge Koo’s Orientalization of customary international law.

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Section: B Colonial Corporations Between Trojan Horses and Unicornsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of International Law, Semi-colonial Thailand, and Imperial Ghosts

Singh¹

2018

AsianJIL

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“…Idea kedua-dua jurutera ini dinamakan sebagai skim Hallett-Colquhoun. Memandangkan pihak British telahpun mempunyai jajaran keretapi dari Moulmein ke Raheng, cadangan ini telah diutarakan untuk menghubungkan selatan Yunnan dengan Bangkok (Fisher, 1947;Brailey, 1999). Walau bagaimanapun, atas kekangan faktor teknikal dan keadaan bentuk muka bumi yang bergunung-ganang di beberapa sektor di Myanmar dan Thailand, cadangan ini telah diabaikan dengan memberikan laluan kepada kos yang lebih rendah melalui pengangkutan merentasi lautan.…”

Section: Faktor Geografi Dan Teknikalunclassified

Peranan ASEAN dalam Kesalinghubungan Pengangkutan Rel di Asia: Evolusi, Faktor dan Prospek

Wong¹,

Chin²,

Kuik³

2018

GEOGRAFIA

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Critics of "ASEAN Way" have often portrayed it as sluggish in making progress in regional integration. The criticism raises questions about ASEAN's role in the development of physical connectivity. There is a lack of political economy studies on the subject, particularly on ASEAN's role in rail transport connectivity. Hence this paper aims to address the research lacuna. It begins with tracing the historical development of railway networks across Asia since the colonial period to examine the evolution and factors affecting the progress in railway connectivity across the region. Based on the available data on various stages of railway networks in Asia, our research indicates that economic factor has been the main impetus for railway connectivity development in the region. The factor has become even more important following Asia's increasing participation in the global production network and rising intra-and inter-Asia trade with other regions since 1990s. This article argues that rail connectivity development in Asia has progressed without following the European Union model where implementation is bound by the European legislation. The ASEAN approach, which emphasizes consensus and national autonomy, accords flexibility to its member countries in implementing their own connectivity projects. However, growing economic potential has enhanced Southeast Asian leaders' political wills to further develop TAR networks despite some political and geographical/technical impediments. Therefore, the prospect for TAR is bright due to the combined efforts of ASEAN, China and Japan through MPAC, BRI and PQI, alongside technical and financial assistance from organizations like UNESCAP, ADB dan AIIB.

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“…It coincides with Britain's expanded interest in the Malay Peninsula and the intensification of European colonial competition that ultimately resulted in Siam's territorial integrity being threatened, particularly by Britain and France. Brailey compares the “scramble for concessions” that developed in Siam as comparable with what occurred in China later in the century (Brailey 1999: 513). Following the Bowring Treaty with Britain of 1855, a floodgate opened to powerful states seeking economic advantage in Siam.…”

Section: The 1850s and Early Canal Schemesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the Bowring Treaty with Britain of 1855, a floodgate opened to powerful states seeking economic advantage in Siam. Most concession seekers had little regard for Siam's sovereignty and took for granted that it would be “ accommodating ” to any demands making it “ little better than a no-man's-land [between the British and French] wide open for exploitation ” (Brailey 1999: 514). In this tumultuous political climate Siam, officially at least, followed the lead of Britain to gain support for its continued ‘independence’, with King Chulalongkorn reportedly seeing Britain as central to this end 9 .…”

Section: The 1850s and Early Canal Schemesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Raffle's "inch of ground" (Raffles 1991(Raffles [1830: 374) would ultimately become a centrepiece of regional and global maritime activity. The strategic position that Britain held in the region was not one that went unchallenged by other colonial powers such as the Netherlands (Tarling 1962(Tarling , 1975 though it was France that emerged as Britain's most significant rival in continental Southeast Asia (see Brailey 1999;Kiernan 1956). As France staked a claim on what became its Indochina colony, there was a protracted period of open rivalry with Britain which continued into the twentieth century.…”

Section: Kra and The Importance Of Maritime Trade In Southeast Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Dobbs

2015

TRaNS

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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.

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The Scramble for Concessions in 1880s Siam

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Of International Law, Semi-colonial Thailand, and Imperial Ghosts

Of International Law, Semi-colonial Thailand, and Imperial Ghosts

Peranan ASEAN dalam Kesalinghubungan Pengangkutan Rel di Asia: Evolusi, Faktor dan Prospek

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

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