Cambodia aspires to shed its dependencies while staying connected

connectivity can be an ambiguous term. Different states use it in different ways at different times. In Southeast Asia, as in other regions where regional diplomacy exists in the backdrop of ever-stronger great power disputes, connectivity lies in the conflux of economics, trade necessities and the unyielding pressure of geopolitics.In few countries is this more evident than in Cambodia, where investment in transport logistics has been a political and diplomatic fixture for at least two decades.Last year’s brief but intense Thailand" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="165249" data-entity-type="event">armed conflict with Thailand, and the border closures that ensued, were nonetheless a watershed moment. The border closures sent major shock waves through Cambodia’s economy. Until May 2025, the border was one of the main entry points for Cambodian goods into the global economy, benefiting from Thailand’s port infrastructure and already established maritime network.