Southeast Asia is home to the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, one of the world’s most important sea lines of communication. The closure of the straits to international navigation may adversely affect the well-being of the global economy. On February 11, 2022, the Biden administration announced the new Indo-Pacific strategy, which will continue to deliver on AUKUS. For centuries, the proposed Thai Canal Project has been planned to revolutionize the shipping industry by bypassing the busy waters of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. If the canal is built under the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, the pre-eminence of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore will not last long. This article analyzes the potential increase of navigation of nuclear-powered submarines through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore and its ensuing environmental implications from a viewpoint of international law. It discusses effects of the proposed canal plan in influencing the shipping industry should this “dream waterway” be constructed.

1. Introduction
2. Strategic Position of the Straits of Malacca andSingapore
    A. Nuclear-Powered Submarines
    B. Repercussions of Radioactive Pollution
3. The Thai Canal Plan
    A. The Development of the Proposed Thai Canal Plan
    B. The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Proposed Thai Canal Plan
    C. Other Maritime Canals
4. Conclusion

• Hazmi Rusli(Associate Professor at Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia)
• Lowell B. Bautista(Associate Professor at the School of Law and a Staff Member at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security )