Mainland Southeast Asia: Turmoil and Peace - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 429

growing appetite for fuel. Oil security is a top priority for
East Asia.
An especially grand plan is to cut a canal through the
Isthmus of Kra to shorten shipping routes between Eu-
rope and East Asia. Investors from Australia and Japan
have expressed interest in the project. Some economists
argue that the relatively small savings for shippers will
not be enough to recoup the estimated cost of $US35 bil-
lion, but at least the canal would allow ships to avoid the
dangerous Strait of Malacca.
Thailand also hopes to be the regional hub for ex-
port of tropical fruits. Thai tropical fruits are unique
with such varieties as rambutan, star fruit, mangos-
teen, and durian all being marketed overseas. Middle-
range to high-end North American and European
grocery stores and supermarkets are now selling these
delicious fruits.
These grandiose schemes due for completion by
2020 are, in large part, in response to China' s emer-
gence as a rival low-cost manufacturer and a magnet for
foreign investment. China' s cheap manufactured goods
are eroding key Thai export markets in the United
States and Japan. The Thai economy has dropped dra-
matically since the 2007 crisis. The economy declined
2.3 percent in 2009. It is hoped that the new develop-
ments will attract more foreign investment and subse-
quent employment.
The 1980s and 1990s witnessed a surge of foreign
investment from such countries as Japan, South Korea,
and Taiwan where labor costs had risen. Thailand had
numerous attractions for relocating industrial opera-
tions from these countries. Unskilled, trainable, and
cheap labor was available. It had a decent infrastructure
of roads, airlines, and port facilities, as well as sufficient
power and water supplies for industry . Tax incentives,
infrastructure provision, and other favorable policies
encouraged foreign investment. Bureaucratic proce-
dures were streamlined. Moreover, there was political
stability and lack of racial conflicts in most of the coun-
try . Finally , there was no adversity toward Chinese busi-
ness, an important consideration for firms coming from
Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Much foreign capital has flowed toward primary in-
dustries such as rubber, tiger prawns, livestock, nonfer-
rous metals, and marble. It has also gone to
resource-based industries such as processed foods, palm
oil, sugar products, wood-furniture parts, rubber gloves,
and paper products.
Manufactured goods have become increasingly im-
portant as a source of foreign revenue. T Textiles and

footwear, food products, rubber, automobiles, comput-
ers, and electronics lead the way , accounting for 75 per-
cent of the country' s GDP . Most of Thailand' s exports go
to the United States, China, and Japan.
Thailand now has 10 export-processing zones in var-
ious locations such as Chon Buri, Ayuddhya, and
Bangkok. In these zones, raw materials and other inputs
may be imported duty-free.
The country remains an attractive destination for
foreign involvement. Japan, the major investor, and other
countries view Thailand as the hub of a golden pentagon
comprising Thailand, Myanmar, and Indochina. Thai-
land is seen as an ideal site to establish satellite compa-
nies into a surrounding hinterland of cheap labor and a
potential market of more than 120 million consumers.
Thai companies, offshoots of joint ventures with the
Japanese, are already trading in Vietnam and have a
strong presence in Laos, where they dominate extractive
industries.
Unfortunately , during the current economic crisis,
many factories have either had to lay off workers or close
down completely . The first groups to be let go have been
foreign workers and women. Government stimulus
packages are easing the blow for some.
More recent events do not bode well for Thailand. A
military coup in 2006 ousted then Prime Minister
Thaksin who was accused of being “thuggish, greedy and
corrupt.” However, the coup did not ruin him as a polit-
ical force and served to unleash a wider backlash against
the economic, social, and military elite that perceives it-
self as the agent of a divine hierarchy descended from
revered King Bhumibol. This elite, represented by cur-
rent Prime Minister Abhisit, has little sympathy or inter-
est in the aspirations of rural and working class voters.
Many of those who benefited from Thaksin' s pop-
ulist policies, especially in the areas of health care and
education, feel disenfranchised under the present gov-
ernment. In 2010, they launched massive protests de-
manding new elections. Wearing red shirts, they
stormed and occupied several areas in the capital as
well as in towns in the poor northern and northeastern
areas of the country . In the wake of ensuing violence,
more than 80 were killed and over 100 injured. More-
over, Bangkok was paralyzed and the tourism industry
in ruins. Protesters were finally overwhelmed by the
Thai military .
The rise of the “red-shirts” (supported by the exiled
Mr. Thaksin) has revealed the growing social and eco-
nomic injustices that permeate once-peaceful Thai soci-
ety . At this point, Thailand' is future is uncertain.