Maritime Silk project - a road to peace and development
The Maritime Silk Road Strategy of China's President Xi Jinping has continued the march of history and promotes a beautiful future.
The Maritime Silk Road was initiated by Admiral Zhenghe, who Thais called “Sam Por Kong”. He had cultivated friendship and confidence with him and the Chinese people along the maritime routes that his convoys had taken – from Shenzhen through the Malay Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope.
The traces of Admiral Zhenghe in Thailand are the more than one hundred Sam Por Kong shrines on the seacoast or river banks. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is soon to be developed, will be of great benefit to the region and the world, and not for any particular nation. If the people of all nations unite to push for the Maritime Silk Road to materialise, we will see concrete results not only in the exchanges of visits and trade but we will also enjoy sustainable trust and peace.
Thailand has a long southern coastline that provides an ocean link between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, linking 80 per cent of maritime navigation, and serves as a gateway of the Maritime Silk Road between the East and the West.
We would like to congratulate China under the leadership of the Communist Party for achieving a great success in reforming the country. We believe that the resolutions of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party, the 4th Politburo meeting last October, and the National Peoples’ Congress in March 2015 will help to stop conflicts and steer peace and development in the region and in the world. We believe that the people of Asean will be pleased to learn of a Chinese plan to invest a sum of US$1.25 trillion in the Asean countries and in encouraging 500 million Chinese to travel the world as President Xi had declared. As the people of Asean – a region of diverse nationalities, religions, cultures, and traditions –we adhere to the Panjasila Principle as a core value for Asean, Asean unity, and as a doctrine for peace and development. These are our greatest achievements, which we are proud of.
Regarding the disputes in the South China Sea, our peoples should pray for conscience, tolerance, sincerity, trust and dialogue to resolve the problems. We should take the view that the problem is too small compared to the work of building a silk road for peace and development that would offer greater benefits to the region and the world. It would also build a legacy of cooperation and trust for the 21st century amid conflicts in various regions of the world.
At the latest Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur on April 27, the Asean leaders reaffirmed that a single community will be established at the end of 2015 despite concerns about the South China Sea. The leaders emphasised the significance of the people as the foundation for creating the three pillars of the Asean Community, namely, political, economic and cultural.
The prime minister of Thailand provided information to the Summit on development of the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea and appealed to all sides to resolve the conflict peacefully, and the prime minister of Malaysia stated that the leaders of Asean see a non-confrontational approach as the best way to ease tensions. He has also asked Asean foreign ministers to quickly solve the said conflict through negotiations between Asean and China.
The construction of East-West Corridor road networks linking China with Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, to Malaysia, and from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar to India are progressing remarkably. The Dawei Industrial Zone is the start of the maritime route. Our next discussion would be the Kra Canal or Land Bridge in southern Thailand linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
On our part, the association made an agreement with the University of International Business and Economics in November 2014 to upgrade research on the “Kra Isthmus (Kra Canal)”. Chinese representatives will visit Thailand to conduct a joint study with Thailand on environmental matters; public hearings; relocation of local residents; selection of canal routes; Kra Canal and development; and Kra Canal and security. We shall present our findings to the governments and peoples of the countries concerned for consideration and joint arrangements.
On behalf of the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, we firmly believe in our joint endeavours. I sincerely wish that the 21st Century Silk Road will soon be a reality.
(Bhokin Bhalakula, chairman of the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, delivered this speech at the Asean-China Strategic Seminar in Shenzhen.)
