China and Japan's competition for commercial influence in Southeast Asia is heating up, with the next contest taking place on the Malay Peninsula. In the coming months, Singapore and Malaysia are expected to move forward on a joint high-speed rail project that will connect five cities between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The 350-kilometer (about 217-mile) line is a key part of the geographically fragmented region's broader integration goals and, like a number of other infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, a priority for both Tokyo and Beijing. China is hoping to use its vast capital reserves, high risk tolerance and strategic investments in the region to realize what is just one part of its envisioned 1,700-kilometer, pan-Asian rail network connecting Singapore with Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province.