21. Jagged Sphere: China’s quest for infrastructure and influence in mainland Southeast Asia
- Author:
- Greg Raymond
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- China has land borders with mainland Southeast Asia and strong strategic imperatives to develop land routes to the sea. It has both potential and motivation to pursue an infrastructural sphere of influence in the Mekong subregion through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects joining southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. The poorer states, especially Laos and Cambodia, have been receptive to the BRI and infrastructure investment, but Thailand and Vietnam, strong states and protective of sovereignty, have been more cautious. This means China’s impact is significantly varied across the subregion. China’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are in some cases dissolving borders and in others carving out Chinese-controlled enclaves, all increasing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) presence and influence.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Foreign Direct Investment, Regional Integration, Borders, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Laos, and Myanmar