Cambodia’s Planned Chinese-Constructed Canal Is A Daring Geo-Economic Project, by Andrew Korybko

In the 21st century, this is how you go about building alliances. From Andrew Korybko at korybko.substack.com:

This megaproject could revolutionize Cambodian society within a generation if the country plays its cards right, but it also runs the risk of playing into the US’ anti-Chinese fearmongering narrative if it’s spun to manipulate Vietnam into more muscularly containing China at sea.

There’s been a lot of talk this month about Cambodia’s planned Chinese-constructed Funan Techo Canal that’ll connect its riparian capital of Phnom Penh to the South China Sea instead of remaining dependent on Vietnamese ports in the Mekong Delta. China will entirely finance this $1.7 billion project through a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement over the next 40-50 years, with construction expected to begin this year and conclude sometime in 2028. Here are five recent pieces about it for the reader’s interest:

* Vietnam Briefing: “Why Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal Project is Worrying Vietnam”

*  The Diplomat: “$1.7 Billion Cambodian Canal Project Draws Increasing Scrutiny”

* RT: “China wants to literally dig its way around geopolitical challenges”

* Fulcrum: “Vietnam’s Geopolitical Anxiety Over Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal”

* Modern Diplomacy: “Navigating National Interest: Unpacking the Funan Techo Canal Project in Cambodia”

To summarize, Cambodia regards the region’s largest megaproject in recent history as a means for becoming a global textile leader by reducing costs and strategic dependence on historical rival Vietnam, while the latter is concerned about a new market rival and Chinese interests. China and Cambodia have always denied that the first plans to base any military forces in the second, but US think tanks continually claim that they’re cooking something up behind the scenes, including as recently as last week.

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