In the 17th century, a French diplomat during the reign of King Louis XIV came up with the bright idea of building a canal across Siam as an alternative naval route to the then Portuguese-controlled Strait of Malacca.
Some 320 years later, the idea looks as if it might finally come to fruition, albeit for completely different reasons.
Rather than serving as a strategic military ploy, it is hoped the proposed 102 kilometre Kra Canal can provide a short-cut for cargo vessels and tankers travelling from Europe and the Middle East to Hong Kong, South Korea, the mainland and Japan.
This could pose a significant threat to Singapore's standing as the world's busiest container port and entrepot for east-west trade.
Vessels would no longer have to take the long, time-consuming loop around the Strait of Malacca.
Paitoon Pongsabutra, secretary-general of Thailand's Royal Institute, estimates about one in four of the 80,000 vessels that pass through the strait each year could be expected to use this short-cut.