Until 1957, military and connecting lines were proportionately more important in new railway construction than in later years. Military considerations also appeared to be an important factor in railway building prior to the "Great Leap" period. Of the four new military lines (Lai-pin to Mu-nan-kuan, Li-t'ang to Chan-chiang, Ying-t'an to Amoy, and Chi-ning to Erh-lien), the first two are clearly designed to provide logistic support for Chinese activities in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam. The early completion of these lines supports the thesis that the Chinese Communist Party decided a decade or more ago to increase its influence in Southeast Asia.