Preface
Cambodia's "difficulty", China "helps"!
As the saying goes, one side of the water and soil supports the other side, and the geography of one side determines the "situation" of one side.
Among the "one-vote countries" in Southeast Asia, if it comes to transportation, Cambodia can be said to be in a very "embarrassing" position.
Before Vietnam "grabbed" the pass, and then was charged by other countries "tolls", the special geographical location led to a large part of the price of Cambodia's domestic products spent on the tolls, and now it is good, known as the "infrastructure madness" The title of China is finally going to "shoot"!
How did the "Canal Agreement" between China and Cambodia come into effect, and how will this decision change the "situation" in Southeast Asia?
Cambodian transport is a "headache"
"If you want to get rich, you must first build roads!" This is an eternal truth that has been practiced for thousands of years, and it is also a truth practiced among countries around the world for thousands of years.
If a country wants to prosper and develop, consumption and import and export must be an important "carriage and horse" to drive the country's gross domestic product, but whether it is consumption or commodity import and export, it must rely on a developed transportation system, but Cambodia is "lacking" in this regard.
Why do you say that?
This also starts with several different modes of transportation.
Generally speaking, there are three types of long-distance transportation.
First of all, the fastest speed is air freight, air freight is the fastest way to connect Cambodia with other countries, for those goods that need to be delivered urgently, air freight is undoubtedly their best choice.
However, although this method is very fast, there are certain drawbacks, such as transporting large goods is a little "powerless", and the cost of air freight is relatively high, which is not conducive to international trade in the long run, which we can also understand, after all, the goods are of the same quality, and the final competition is still the price.
Compared with air freight, sea freight can transport bulk items, and it will also save a lot of complicated customs clearance procedures, so looking at the global transportation system, many countries will choose sea freight, but at the same time, it also "pokes" Cambodia's "pain points".
Doesn't Cambodia want to use sea freight as a method?
ocean shipping
Apparently not, it's just that for Cambodia, at the moment they don't seem to have this "choice".
From the following picture, we can "get a glimpse" of the "specific difficulties" of Cambodian shipping.
Of course, Cambodia itself also has its own port, but because their port is not connected to the sea, it can only be connected to the road for transportation, so the cost is still relatively high.
The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh, and the most convenient and economical way to export goods from this area of Phnom Penh is to enter Vietnam through the Mekong River and then exit through this "customs crossing" in Vietnam.
Phnom Penh
Under such a "shipping mode", it is indispensable to pay a "toll" to Vietnam, which is undoubtedly because it uses Vietnamese ports.
In fact, "tolls" are not the most "worrisome" thing for Cambodia.
常言道：“吃人嘴短，拿人手短。 ”
If Cambodia relies on Vietnam for a long time to achieve the export of goods, then this is equivalent to Vietnam "grasping" Cambodia to a certain extent.
We can imagine that if Cambodia and neighboring Vietnam are at odds, Vietnam will definitely bear the brunt of the closure of this port, which will have a certain impact on Cambodia's economic development.
I believe that no country wants to be "locked" by other countries' economic throats, and the same is true for Cambodia.
Moreover, the relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam is actually not very "close", after all, the two countries have a very "unpleasant" historical relationship with the "port" alone......
The "feud" between Vietnam and Cambodia
Step by step, to achieve the purpose of "cannibalization".
When it comes to Vietnam, many people may "scoff" at it, thinking that it is just a small place.
But in fact, more than 200 years ago, Vietnam was a regional power in Southeast Asia, and it was on the verge of "dominating" Southeast Asia.
As you may have noticed, the territory of Vietnam on the map today is a long strip shape, and in fact, the lower half of Vietnam's territory may have been "encroached".
In the 15th and 16th centuries A.D., Vietnam marched southward and conquered the Champa state in one fell swoop, perhaps tasting the "sweetness", and in the 17th and 18th centuries A.D., Vietnam had a new goal.
Vietnam invaded the Champa War
Vietnam's eyes were on Cambodia, which was very rich in materials and products at that time, and in the face of Cambodia, which had a larger territory than itself, the clever Vietnamese did not use force to attack, but adopted other more gentle means in order to achieve their own goals.
The first method is "marriage", Cambodia was invaded by Siam in 1431, which also led to internal and external troubles in Cambodia, and the king had to ask nearby Vietnam for support, at which time Vietnam had a long-term "wishful thinking" and married the princess.
Gradually, the Vietnamese used this kind of friendly means to greatly increase their power in Cambodia, and Cambodia was forced to open its borders, and the Vietnamese could live in the Mekong Delta without conditions.
As the number of people living in Vietnam grew, Vietnam implemented the second step - sending troops to occupy it.
In the late 50s of the 17th century, Vietnam found a reason to claim that Cambodia had broken the original border of Thuan Quang and began to send troops to the Mekong Delta region.
After stationing troops, Vietnam became even more "arrogant", and again and again found reasons to start sending troops to attack Cambodia, so that Cambodia was "squeezed" step by step, and Vietnam also encroached on a large part of Cambodia's territory, including the port we mentioned above.
In this way, half of Cambodia became a subsidiary of Vietnam, and Cambodia could only be "sent under the fence" and became a small country in Southeast Asia, and even shipping could only "depend" on Vietnam.
Judging from the history of the two countries, the relationship between the two countries is not "friendly", and this time, perhaps China's action will "change" the established pattern to a certain extent.
China "shot".
$1.7 billion!
In 2023, Cambodia has signed a relevant cooperation framework agreement with China Road and Bridge, and Cambodia will soon build an inland canal with the help of China.
The project, also known as the "Bak Se River Logistics System and Waterway Transport Development Project", is known as the project and plans to build a 180-kilometre inland canal from the seaport in Kep province to the port of Phnom Penh in Kandal province.
The inland canal, which is planned to span four provinces and covers Cambodia's population of nearly 2 million people, is a huge project with a total investment of US$1.7 billion.
This is undoubtedly an "explosive" good news for Cambodia, and if completed, it will also play a great role in promoting Cambodia's economy.
Of course, the most significant benefit is to save Cambodia's transportation costs, we can also intuitively feel this from the following examples, according to the information on the relevant freight website, Cambodia if you transport a large shipment, the price is very high, while Thailand and Vietnam are much lower.
Cambodia's transportation costs are four or five times higher than those of neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, so it can be seen that once the canal is completed, the first to "profit" must be the local Cambodian residents, who may no longer have to pay the expensive transportation fees.
In addition, the construction of the canal is also good for Cambodia, not only to promote the construction of new business districts and logistics centers, but also to develop new satellite ports, and to promote the development and urbanization of surrounding cities.
Entering 2024, this project is also advancing, and by February 2024, Cambodian people also said that the "De Chongfu South Canal Project" will start construction this year, and the construction is expected to start in July.
epilogue
One canal, many parties "profit"!
With the completion of this canal, not only Cambodia can get good development in Cambodia, but also as a neighboring country, we will also "benefit" to a certain extent.
As for the construction process, I believe that the mainland, as a major infrastructure country, has accumulated experience in the construction of so many large projects before, and this project will also be carried out smoothly.
What do you think about this, welcome to express your opinions!
The sources in this article are from:
1. "Baidu Encyclopedia - Vietnam's War of Aggression and Occupation"
2. "Chinese Enterprises Undertake the Construction of the Cambodian Capital Cross-River Bridge Project", Xinhua News Agency, released on February 20, 2024;
3. "Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet Witnesses the Company's Signing of the Dechong Funan Canal Project", China International Contractors Association - China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd., released on October 19, 2023;
4. "Cambodia plans to build Kep into a world tourist destination on a par with Siem Reap", Chinanews.com, released on December 26, 2023;
5. "Hehai Tongqu Tales Phnom Penh" Economic Times, released on September 3, 2023, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!