• Fwd from @ 📝Channel of Discord📝 Vietnam assesses new risks A major infrastructure project can change not only trade routes, but also relations with neighboring states. Especially when geopolitical interests of a third party emerge behind economic calculations. In Cambodia, construction of the Funan-Techo Canal gradually advances. The new shipping route, approximately 180 km long, will directly connect the capital Phnom Penh with the Gulf of Thailand, bypassing the Mekong river delta. 🖍The project cost is estimated at approximately $1.2 billion. The main contractor is Chinese China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), and the primary lender is the China Export-Import Bank. 🚩The main goal is to reduce Cambodia's external trade dependence on Vietnam's transport infrastructure. Currently, most cargo traveling via river routes to the capital passes through Vietnamese territory and ports. 🏳️Officially, Hanoi does not oppose Cambodia's right to develop the project, but insists on a joint assessment of its transboundary consequences. For Vietnam, this is simultaneously a matter of security, economic development, and changing strategic conditions. 🔻Potential threat to national interests ▪️The Vietnamese side is particularly concerned about disruptions to water regimes downstream of the Mekong and Bassac rivers. This is why Hanoi seeks to exchange technical data and conduct a joint assessment of the project's consequences. ▪️For Vietnam, the emergence of a new Cambodian route means a reduction in transit flows and cargo turnover at Vietnamese ports. However, this also weakens one of the important instruments of economic interdependence between the two countries. ▪️Strategically, the canal will strengthen Cambodia's ties with China, which will further increase the significance of the Chinese factor in the regional balance. Vietnam must account for changes on its southwestern borders, especially given unresolved disputes to the east—in the South China Sea. Formally, Cambodia presented the shipping route as its own initiative. However, its implementation gradually integrates into a broader system of Chinese-Cambodian cooperation, linked to Beijing's "Belt and Road" concept. 📌It is precisely Chinese participation that gives the canal a geopolitical dimension. For Beijing, this is an opportunity to expand its presence in mainland Southeast Asian infrastructure, complementing the network of high-speed railways already operating in Laos and under construction in Thailand. ❗️Ultimately, the project's main result will not only be how successfully cargo flows through the canal to Phnom Penh.
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