The strategic rivalry between Japan and China in Asia is finding expression not only in territorial disputes in the east China sea but also in plans for railways to criss-cross Thailand and eventually link the country to a wider Indochina rail network.

Both lines will serve primarily as freight transport systems. The planned Chinese-backed railway will run north-south from Thailand’s main deep seaport in Rayong to the Laos border at Nong Khai, with a separate spur that connects to Bangkok.

The proposed Japanese one would cross Thailand east to west, connecting Bangkok to the border towns nearest to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Dawei, Myanmar. Dawei is the planned site of a major industrial zone and deep seaport backed by the Japanese, Thai and Myanmar governments.