New Mandala readers may recall that in May I wrote about plans for a railway linking Laos to Vietnam and China, funded by the Chinese. Less than six months later, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has reported that construction on the Laos-China section of the track was due to commence on October 28th. I mentioned the “can-do” nature of Chinese investment in May but this a remarkable turnaround by any measure, even if it is in fact the “survey” that is under way (as reported by the Vientiane Times). This impression is only reinforced for anyone who knows the mountainous terrain covered by the train (the map is RFA’s).
In May I wrote of the train’s symbolic significance in historical terms, drawing a partial parallel between colonial France and contemporary China. But what will the railway mean to Laos in more practical terms? For RFA it
will help bolster the tiny Southeast Asian state’s underdeveloped infrastructure, but mainly benefit its giant neighbor …
While many Laotians are excited about improving their country’s transportation infrastructure, others are concerned that China is likely to profit from the agreement.
“Greater benefits will go to China because, first of all, the goods exported from China to Laos will increase sharply due to convenient transport; and secondly, products from local natural resources, like mineral products, will be easily transported back to China,” one Vientiane resident said.
“Outgoing and incoming commodity transportation is all for Chinese products … They invest and produce here, and what they produce are their products—nothing is Lao. Then they [often] export those products back to China,” he said.
“The products produced in [China] they also bring here to sell in Laos.”
The Vientiane resident agreed that the influx of money from Chinese tourists would benefit the people of Laos, but added that not all of the Chinese would be coming simply to visit.
“For tourism, yes, in this aspect, Laos would greatly benefit from the railroad construction. [But] Chinese people will come to Laos, and if they come, they won’t want to leave. They will try to settle here, as is the situation now,” he said.
Conservative in character, these reservations are typical enough responses to regional and global economic integration, and would probably be voiced anywhere. But how widespread are these concerns and, understandable though they are, is anyone realistically saying the train is not, on balance, a good thing?
In any case, RFA’s main criticism concerned employment:
Laotians who say the project was designed partly to provide employment to the domestic population are also wary of the large number of Chinese laborers who will be required to relocate to Laos to build the railroad over the next four years.
A Lao official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that skilled labor and the clearance of unexploded ordnance along the railroad route will be conducted jointly by both Chinese and Lao workers, while environmental protection measures will be handled solely by Lao companies.
“However, Chinese workers will surely outnumber Lao workers because Laos has less labor,” the official added.
The official said he was unsure how many Chinese workers would be required to construct the railroad, but according to a senior official of Thailand’s railroad authority, the project will require around 64,000 laborers from China.
The Thai official added that the project would directly benefit the Laotian people who will be able to generate an income from selling their local products to the thousands of Chinese workers.
Also familiar from a range of countries where China is investing, these anxieties dovetail with those above to create the impression of a widespread anti-Chinese feeling expressed in xenophobic terms. But to what extent is this representative?
So far, at least, the people I’ve spoken to about foreign investment (in general terms rather than specifically about the train) seem to accept certain costs or conditions as necessary by products of Chinese investment, which on balance is embraced as a positive thing. Most emphatically on display in last year’s SEA Games, this appears to reflect the historical trend in Laos of achieving an accommodation between local dependence and autonomy. That is, to have autonomy in a small country surrounded by much larger ones there is recognition that there must also be dependence. But I am sure the balance between the two – or perceptions of it – varies considerably from place to place and among different groups of people. Certainly this is one lesson we can draw from work done on Chinese investment in rubber plantations in northern Laos.
In any case, I’d very interested to know how, on balance, the Laos-China railway is being received in Laos.
11 responses so far ↓
1 It's Martino // Nov 2, 2010 at 4:12 pm
They [the Chinese workers] wont want to leave? I’d imagine it would be rather well received by youth who want to
leavesee and explore the world they’re coming into contact with through tourism. It’s the youth in Laos who the railway will be most important for. Fantastic news for them I think, especially if fares remain cheap.With regards to logistics, good news for the north-south GMS corridor. Interesting that Bangkok will be pleased (gauging from the Thai officials response) given their apparent displeasure with increasing Chinese influence in Laos over other issues. Though maybe that’s just party political.
Should maps should be relabelled with GMS to cover the whole region soon? Should country names just be provincial titles, or could that be done away with altogether and instead just have city names reconstituted as mandala hubs, haha?
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2 john francis lee // Nov 2, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I imagine the railway is a Chinese project, to be built by Chinese, aimed to satisfy Chinese needs. Surely the Chinese workers, undoubtedly nearly all males, will stay in Lao, marry and take over the country.
I’ve seen no news on the terms of the Chinese railway to be built through Thailand. Abhisit and Korn are presently according themselves the power to cut that deal, and all other international give-aways they might have in mind, behind closed doors, without consulting even the Thai parliament let alone the Thai people, via an amendment to the Military charter presently serving de facto as the law in Thailand.
I wonder how many Chinese workers it will take to build the Chinese railway through Thailand?
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3 Greg Lopez // Nov 2, 2010 at 8:18 pm
I think the opening up of landlocked mainland South-east Asia is a good thing – if done well of course.
The challenge is to ensure that the new opportunities, prosperity & risk that comes with it is distributed well (if not equitably).
This would among other things, require obviously better participation by the citizens of Laos in decisions made
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4 Jan Andrejkovits // Nov 3, 2010 at 12:17 am
This project is a really costly and difficult one, if you see the geographical problems on the way. The main reason for that are in my eyes the chinese needs for natural ressources, that they can find in the mountain ranges of Laos. And the project ends not in Laos. The Chinese would like to go further to southeastern Thailand, to be connected with the Gulf of Thailand.
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5 Greg Lopez // Nov 3, 2010 at 11:21 am
On a side note: Physical infrastructure is seen as a key component to connect India with South-east Asia and South-east Asia with China and ultimately connecting South Asia with East Asia. This “Asia” is seen to be the most dynamic part of the globe in the coming decades or so.
Improved physical infrastructure (roads, rails, airports, ports, etc) are critical for reducing trade costs. There are of-course political, social and environmental issues which needs to be addressed. But looks like plans have already been laid out. Refer links below. What is important now is for citizens of ASEAN to make sure they are active participants of these decisions and should they be against it or if they want to improve it – make it clear now because the train is about to leave the station.
1. $170b in infrastructure in East Asia.
2. Connecting East Asia
3. Growth initiative towards doubling size of Asia’s economy.
4. ASEAN Connectivity Masterplan
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6 T // Nov 3, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Just curious if the exact route has even been planned yet? Sure the map isn’t accurate with the tracks going through Burma, is it?
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7 eva seriche // Nov 3, 2010 at 4:46 pm
All substantial comments aside: When I visited Laos back in 1997, the Lao phrasebook had a chapter on the railroad (“Where is the train station?”). Lonely Planet are the true visionaries.
Let’s hope that whatever development this railroad brings, be it through tourism, trade or other economic investment, the Lao people will have an increased say in matters. This type of projects is bound to put more weight on already damaged ecosystems, natural resources and local communities.
A new law (signed in 2009) allowing for independent NGOs to operate in the country may come at the right time. I do not know whether it has already been implemented but no doubt heavy restrictions will continue to limit the range of activities allowed for NGOs.
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8 Paul Rivett // Nov 4, 2010 at 7:36 am
Simon,
Further to @T #6, if the alignment shown it is accurate (ie. passing through Burma) what is the possibility of the line branching off and heading through Kengtung? Last year while visiting Kengtung I saw the beginning of construction work that was purportedly the terminus for a train line between Kengtung and Taunggyi (and beyond).
Also I imagine there would be implications for the locals in making any proposed alignment ‘safe’ from banditry (real or imagined).
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9 Helen Bushnell // Nov 5, 2010 at 8:10 am
Paul,
If the construction that you saw was in a country other than Myanmar, it would probably mean that an actual rail line would appear soon. The efforts to connect countries within Asia are bringing rail service to multiple cities that did not have them before. Unfortunately, Myanmar is somewhat immune to the international pressure that is reducing corruption in rail projects throughout Asia. So it could just be someone’s cousin could be getting money to move dirt around.
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10 Paul Rivett // Nov 5, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Helen, yes that was pretty much my reaction at the time and the local people I was with weren’t really holding their breath for it to be finished. However, reading Simon’s report (and then your link), I thought it might be more than simply some internal shenanigans and part of a larger plan. I’m certainly not expecting to be able to jump on a train between KGG and TGY during future visits.
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11 john francis lee // Nov 6, 2010 at 11:48 am
The Chinese seem to have taken the development of their railroad to the Gulf of Thailand completely in hand.
Laos scraps full rail link to Nong Khai
Don’t know if they’ve begun work on housing for Chinese workers in Thailand yet or not. Probably waiting for the Democrats and Bhumijaithai to buy the land first, then for the Kingdom of Thailand to buy it from the Democrats/Bhumijaithai using money lent by the Chinese government.
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