China's 'railway diplomacy' plan is making tracks throughout Asia

Kobsak Sabhavasu, the PM's secretary-general, recently chaired the joint committee's first meeting. For Thailand, the Nong Khai-Bangkok route is likely to be the first leg of the system. If granted approval, the Thai and Chinese governments will set up a joint-venture firm to implement the project.

The standard-gauge is 1.435 meters wide, compared to Thailand's existing one-meter tracks. The proposal will herald a new era of rail development in the country. In the next stage, the Nong Khai-Bangkok route will be linked with the same-size track in Laos before crossing into southern China to join Beijing's national high-speed train network. From Bangkok, the route will be further extended to Thailand's southern region. In the following stages, China hopes the network will reach Malaysia and Singapore.

As the world's second largest economy since overtaking Japan in the second quarter of this year, China has grand designs for its high-speed railway diplomacy. Besides Southeast Asia, the Chinese plan to export technology to other parts of the continent, including Central Asia.

China's high-speed railway technology, in which passenger and cargo trains can travel at speeds of 250-350 kilometers per hour, will be showcased to deepen economic development ties with at least 17 nations in the region — Thailand included. Essentially, the Chinese will offer know-how, based on modifications of German, French and Japanese high-speed rail technology, in return for natural resources and other kinds of payments, if not hard currency.

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