News: Thailand has announced that it has decided to scrap a Chinese led-KRA canal project.
Facts:
- Kra Canal also known as Thai Canal or Kra Isthmus Canal refers to a proposed canal project that aims to connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand.
- Significance: The canal would provide an alternative to transit through the Straits of Malacca and shorten transit for shipments of oil to Japan and China by 1,200 km.
Additional Facts:
- Strait of Malacca: It is a narrow, 890 km (550 mi) stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
- It serves as the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
