China's high-speed train crash

[opebo]

This has been a big story in Thailand, because of the plan by the new government to acqueisce to China's proposal to build (and largely pay for) a new high speed rail from Southwestern China, through Laos and Thailand all the way to Singapore.

Skeptics say 'hey they Chinese are incompetent!', but I've always said - 'what kind of crazy minor power allows the nearby dominant superpower to start turning it into an economic dependency through infrastructure?'.  Personally I think that if Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines strengthen their relationships with the US and India, and US clients like South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, they'll face a much brighter future.  If they embrace Chinese domination they'll remember the Cold War as a time of independence.

[opebo]

Personally I think that if Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines strengthen their relationships with the US and India, and US clients like South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, they'll face a much brighter future.  If they embrace Chinese domination they'll remember the Cold War as a time of independence.

My knowledge is that Vietnam already despises China, while the Philippines need China for exports as both countries' citizens despise each other. Thailand is the only one trying to cozy up to the Chinese. Not that I don't agree with you, of course.

Correct.  My argument was that the Thais should wake up and jettison their Sinophilia, and realize that even though the others are not to their taste (they hate Indians and look down on Philippineos, and don't particularly like Vietnamese either), their long term sovereignty and national interest is served by minimizing dependency on China.