"Mr. Wang, this way please."
At this moment, a staff member from Jieke Group came over, leading Wang Lin to the celebration site.
Here, Wang Lin saw many heavyweight figures such as the President of Chan Country, the King of Siam Bai Ya, the President of An Nan, and other high-ranking officials from various countries, as well as representatives from friendly nations like Hua Country and Russia sent by Jieke Group.
Of course, leading the group were naturally the core figures of Jieke Group: Su Jie and Liu Yingying, along with numerous high-level executives of Jieke Group.
If Wang Lin had not participated in the investment for the construction of the Kra Isthmus Canal, he would not have had the qualification to stand here and be part of this group.
"Now, I declare the Kra Isthmus Canal officially open for navigation and operational from today onwards."
Su Jie held a pair of scissors, cutting the red ribbon to complete the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Amidst the sound of celebration fireworks, media reporters from all over the world pressed their camera shutters to capture this moment.
As Su Jie finished the ribbon-cutting, shadows of large ships slowly sailed over the Kra Isthmus Canal.
Naval fleets from the five countries of Southeast Asia, led by Chan Country, An Nan, and Siam, with frigates and destroyers, slowly navigated through the canal.
From the shore, one could clearly see navy soldiers standing on both sides of these warships.
They would be the first batch of ships to pass through the Kra Isthmus Canal, demonstrating Jieke Group's capability to connect the Andaman Sea and the Siam Bay without passing through the Malacca Strait.
The presence of warships made the atmosphere even more fervent, though journalists from Beautiful Country and Japan displayed disdainful expressions upon seeing these warships.
There's no need to elaborate on Beautiful Country's journalists; their country's navy is the number one on Blue Star, boasting the combined strength of the second through ninth-ranked navies. They claim their navy alone can confront all other navies in the world, embodying the utmost confidence.
Of course, despite such claims, Beautiful Country often leads a large group of countries rather than confronting multiple nations alone when it engages in warfare, exposing its rogue nature.
As for Japan, although they don't exhibit World War II-era prestige, their naval strength still qualifies them among the top five globally, even surpassing the Great British Empire in naval power rankings.
It's noteworthy that when Great Britain was known as the British Empire, their Royal Navy claimed it could challenge the combined navies of all other countries.
Japan currently has sixty to seventy thousand active navy soldiers and over a hundred naval vessels weighing more than a thousand tons, totaling a tonnage of 801,000 tons. On average, front-line warships have a full-load displacement of 6,800 tons, equipped with 4 amphibious assault ships, 4 large landing ships, 42 destroyers, 15 frigates, 30 submarines, and 36 auxiliary vessels.
In contrast, even with the combined naval forces of five Southeast Asian countries, Jieke Group's naval strength remains insignificant. The top navies among the five, Siam and An Nan, rank beyond twenty-thirtieth globally. Their impact in the Southeast Asia sea area is marked by the strength among lesser competitors.
Such naval power might uphold dominance among Southeast Asian countries, though it pales against Beautiful Country and Japan's navies.
Hence, witnessing the warships in the Kra Isthmus Canal, Beautiful Country-led journalists reacted with disdainful expressions.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, it was time for the press conference.
"Jieke Group's forced excavation of the Kra Isthmus Canal has severely damaged local natural and marine resources. It has also hurt the sentiments of countries like Temasek, Johor, and Jawa, disrupting the normal maritime order. Is Jieke Group using the Kra Isthmus Canal to control a global shipping chokepoint, forcing other countries to sell their interests?"
After answering questions from some of its own journalists, when it was NBC journalist from Beautiful Country's turn, the questioning became sharp.
Upon hearing this, Su Jie simply smiled and replied, "The benefits of constructing the Kra Isthmus Canal are self-evident. It effectively shortens the distance of Eurasian Continent maritime transportation. If talking about environmental destruction and threatening other nations, then the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal should also be blocked."
"Is the Kra Isthmus Canal opened by Jieke Group also free of charge?"
A Japanese journalist eagerly stood up; Japan, being resource-poor, relied heavily on import-export trade, with many ships passing through the Malacca Strait.
Using the Kra Isthmus Canal could reduce over a thousand kilometers of voyage, minimize wastage of several days, saving substantial costs.
The Japanese journalist asked this because the Malacca Strait is toll-free, and if the Kra Isthmus Canal also were free, even Japanese shipping enterprises would be tempted.
"We adopt differential fees. For friendly countries, we charge minimal fees. For unfriendly countries, the fees would be raised somewhat."
Su Jie smiled, hearing which a Japanese journalist's complexion slightly changed; Japan would undoubtedly be on Jieke Group's blacklist.
"Such differential treatment is excessive and contravenes international law."
The Japanese journalist couldn't help but say, knowing the shipping canal charge proposed by Su Jie would be costly.
"Haha, Jieke Group is sanctioned by many countries. At those times, you don't call it differential treatment. Not allowing the commoners to light a lamp while permitting the officials to set fires, we also have our sanctions."
Su Jie said disdainfully, turning to continue naming other journalists.
With the conclusion of this Kra Isthmus completion ceremony, the news of the canal's opening rapidly spread in all directions, particularly garnering attention from India, various Southeast Asian island countries, and nations with significant vested interests. Many investigative moves were underway, making the situation instantly turbulent.