US concerned over proposed China-Thai canal
Geneva, July 01 (ANI): US human rights activists have expressed concern over reports that China and Thailand are planning to build a canal which would cross the Kra Isthmus, 210 kilometres (130 miles) southwest of Bangkok, and would allow ships to bypass Malaysia and Singapore. Though governments of both China and Thailand have denied reports, Chinese media has reported that the two countries have already signed an agreement to the effect. President of the US-based Leadership Council for Human Rights, Kathryn Cameron Porter said Beijing's expansion plans in the South China Sea was a matter of concern for the world community. The canal would offer a shorter and probably cheaper northern alternative route for east-west shipping, now moving via the crowded and hazardous Malacca Straits between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia.
