ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 discusses the Thai experience as a major hub of the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CIPEC), strategic BRI-related high-speed rail (HSR) projects and their potential influence in the region. After many false dawns and delays, construction commenced on the BRI HSR in 2017 under the Thai military-bureaucracy-dominated government. The delivery is relatively unique in the BRI to date in that the project is funded by the Thai Government and built by local contractors utilising Chinese design consultants. However, the project proceeds at a slow pace and is observed to be a case of local priorities taking precedence due to the challenging multilateral nature of the route that runs through five countries. Applying the Chinese infrastructure-catalysed development and urbanisation model, the Thai Government embarked on a nationwide transport infrastructure building and investment at an unprecedented scale and has proposed linking the BRI to its east-west oriented Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) HSR that links the central regions’ three major international airports to the country’s major industrial precinct and seaports. The Thai case reflects a potential shift and flexibility in BRI implementation that, in Thailand’s interaction with China, is more balanced, mutually benefiting and collaborative. Moreover, the EEC HSR project has been touted as an example of collaboration between China and Japan in a third country.
