China looms large in Turkey’s controversial waterway project
Turkey is reportedly gearing up to partner with China in the construction of an artificial waterway parallel to the Bosporus, a project with likely implications for Russia and the United States in the Black Sea.
While Turkey remains stuck between the West and Russia on a number of strategic issues, its dilemmas might grow even more complicated with a Chinese addition to the equations, as reports suggest that China could assume a lead role in financing and building a controversial Turkish waterway to the Black Sea.
Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defense systems, US legal proceedings against a Turkish public bank for helping Iran evade US sanctions, rows over the Syrian Kurds and Turkey’s posture in the Eastern Mediterranean have led to unprecedented tensions in Turkish-US ties. In a bid to open itself a wiggle room, Ankara has recently moved to mend fences with its traditional Western partners, seeking to draw on the value of military and economic collaboration.
