• Burmese
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Thailand Losing out to China in Battle of the Burma Ports

William Boot by William Boot
February 21, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Thailand Losing out to China in Battle of the Burma Ports

President Thein Sein

8.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Thailand’s dream of acquiring a trade gateway to the Indian Ocean may be scuppered not because of lukewarm interest by Japanese investors but because of Burmese and Chinese business interests.

The Bangkok government has blamed problems in securing Japanese investment for the latest delay in forging ahead with the Dawei industrial port project on Burma’s southeast coast. In fact, the grandiose multi-billion dollar scheme first envisaged by the private Thai developer Italian-Thai Development (ITD) as long ago as 2008 was in limbo long before the Thai government moved in last September to try to help it along.

The Burmese government had clearly gone cold on Dawei—which is closer to Bangkok than Rangoon by 300 km—when it refused to approve a huge 4,000 megawatt coal-fueled electricity generating plant at the site for ITD back in February 2012.

RelatedPosts

Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

June 17, 2025
5.5k
Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 17, 2025
128
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

June 17, 2025
1.2k

By then, Chinese government money was already building an oil transhipment terminal on the central coast at Kyaukphyu, another sleepy Burmese seaside town where gas from the Shwe field out in the Bay of Bengal will also come ashore.

Kyaukphyu is where oil and natural gas pipelines now being completed through Burma into China’s neighboring Yunnan Province begin. It’s where China plans to take a fast railway line from Yunnan carrying exports, and it’s where the Burmese government on the back of these developments has ambitions to build an economic zone to attract manufacturers and create a major import-export port with thousands of jobs.

Kyaukphyu is not close to Rangoon but it is only 250 km to Naypyidaw and less to the central Irrawaddy belt of towns leading up to Mandalay.

“The fundamental problem with the Dawei project is that its main beneficiary is always going to be Bangkok,” regional energy industries analyst-consultant Collin Reynolds told The Irrawaddy on Feb. 19. “The Thais want it primarily as a crude oil transhipment point much the same as the Chinese are achieving with their Kyaukphyu set up.

“Thailand also sees Dawei as a place where it could expand its petrochemicals industry, which is stymied on the edge of Bangkok because of environmental and health concerns.

“Japanese investment could go into Dawei in support of this because Japanese firms are among those that have been restricted at Bangkok’s Map Ta Phut petrochemicals industrial estate. But I think Japan sees bigger prospects in and around the port in Rangoon where some of its large industrial corporations have committed to a new economic zone.”

Whereas the Naypyidaw government has had no direct input on Dawei—beyond polite meetings with Thai government delegations led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra—it has already appointed a minister, Myint Thein, to oversee a development agency for Kyaukphyu.

Naypyidaw has signed an agreement with China to permit a combined railway and highway which would link Kyaukphyu with towns in central Burma and especially Yunnan’s provincial capital Kunming.

No timetable for the 1,200-km-long railway’s construction has been announced, but the natural gas pipeline controlled by China National Petroleum Corporation is being tested this month and is scheduled to begin commercial operations in April, while the parallel oil pipeline should be completed by the end of this year.

Kyaukphyu is ideally placed for an expected growth in Burma’s offshore oil and gas exploitation. There are 20 or more untouched blocks dotted along the coast both sides of Kyaukphyu which are likely to go up for auction sometime this year.

“The Kyaukphyu Economic Zone is a specially designated area in which foreign companies will construct and operate petrochemical plants and oversee the export of Chinese-made products,” says Arakan Oil Watch, an NGO concerned about environmental and human rights issues such as land confiscation.

The NGO said a special economic zone law was established by the former military junta in January 2011 and is still in force, regulating investor privileges, land use, finance management and labor.

The Naypyidaw government has said it will consult local people, something that hasn’t happened at other major development sites, before finalizing industrial zoning at Kyaukphyu.

Thailand’s Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt, who chairs the Thai-Myanmar Joint Coordination Committee for Dawei, said on Feb. 12 there were serious problems preventing the Dawei project proceeding. It could be another whole year before Japan made a firm commitment, he said.

“Thailand’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has said it will have to conduct a new feasibility study on several aspects of the project as Japan disagrees on [ITD’s] planning of the location of the port and infrastructure details,” said Hong Kong’s Inside Investor, which provides advice to business investors across Asia.

If Dawei does finally return to its sleepy seaside status, the Thais can still secure their gateway to the Indian Ocean and, like the Chinese, avoid using the Malacca Strait for oil shipments. The Thai Ministry of Transport is carrying out yet another feasibility study into a so-called land bridge across Thailand’s narrowest point.

It’s not as handy for Bangkok as Dawei, but Pakbara in southern Thailand near the Malaysian island of Langkawi on the Andaman Sea is only 100 km across to the Gulf of Thailand at Mueang Songkhla, short enough to build oil pipelines for transhipment.

Your Thoughts …
William Boot

William Boot

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.3k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.9k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post

Komodo Dragon Attacks Tourist Guide

China Officials Tighten Belts under New Leader

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

5 days ago
1.3k
China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

2 days ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.