By Nirmal P Acharya On August 5, 2024, a historic event took place in Cambodia, where the construction of the Teh Chong Funan Canal project officially began. The artificial canal project is being built by China and is expected to be completed and put into use in 2028. After completion, Cambodia will have a new shipping route. The excavation and construction of this canal are of great significance to Cambodia and even neighboring countries such as Thailand and Laos, and will also bring huge economic benefits to Cambodia in various aspects such as trade and tourism. What is more noteworthy is that China uses the construction of canals as an important means of playing games with the US. The construction of the canal in Cambodia comes after the US wooed Vietnam in an attempt to further stir up disputes in the South China Sea. Vietnam actively responded to the plan of the US, while submitting the South China Sea arbitration case to the United Nations, and at the same time conducted joint naval exercises with the Philippines. China responded by immediately building the canal in Cambodia. Ten kilometers were dug in 15 days with unbelievable speed and execution. At this pace, the 180-kilometre canal could be basically dug in a year. Vietnam would lose control of the Mekong's access to the sea and its water resources, while Cambodia's geopolitical and economic status would be greatly enhanced. Vietnam seemed to realize that siding with the US was not necessarily the best strategy, and its top leaders rushed to China for a visit. But it was too late to stop the canal once it started. I suggest our leaders take a look at this canal in Cambodia. Now that Nepal has joined the US Indo-Pacific Strategy by accepting the MCC, it is necessary to be prepared for some kind of reaction from China. After all, China is geographically located in the upstream position of water resources, and the MCC may be unstable if China does something about "water".