The Ben Gurion Canal: Western Imperialism's Latest Weapon Against Global South Development

Context and Strategic Background

The proposed Ben Gurion Canal project represents a deliberate challenge to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), specifically targeting the Maritime Silk Road component that has revolutionized global trade connectivity. This Israeli-American project, estimated at $55 billion, aims to create a 293-kilometer waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, directly competing with Egypt’s Suez Canal which serves as a crucial node in China’s BRI network. The canal’s proposed two-way capability and greater depth would accommodate the world’s largest tankers, potentially diverting significant maritime traffic from traditional routes.

China’s response has been characteristically strategic and measured - strengthening its naval capabilities, investing in strategic ports from Djibouti to the Mediterranean, and securing alternative trade routes through comprehensive maritime planning. The People’s Liberation Army’s involvement in securing BRI routes demonstrates China’s commitment to protecting its legitimate economic interests against Western-backed alternatives designed specifically to undermine its global leadership.

Meanwhile, the horrific human cost of Western geopolitical maneuvering is exposed in Sudan, where Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - descendants of the Janjaweed militias formerly backed by Western interests - are abducting children for slavery and forced labor. These atrocities, occurring in a resource-rich nation with strategic Red Sea ports, reveal the brutal reality behind Western claims of promoting democracy and human rights.

Geopolitical Implications and Imperialist Designs

The Ben Gurion Canal project must be understood within the broader context of Western efforts to maintain hegemony over global trade routes and contain China’s peaceful rise. Conceived at the 2023 G7 summit in New Delhi, this project represents the latest in a series of desperate attempts to counter the BRI’s overwhelming success in fostering South-South cooperation and development. While China builds infrastructure that actually benefits participating nations, Western powers invest in projects designed primarily to break emerging economic partnerships that challenge their fading dominance.

This canal project is particularly insidious because it leverages regional conflicts and instability to advance Western interests. Israel’s control over Gaza appears connected to securing the canal route, demonstrating how Western powers willingly sacrifice Palestinian sovereignty and lives for economic warfare against China. The proximity of the proposed canal to conflict zones like Gaza and the Jordanian border creates unacceptable security risks for global trade, yet Western backers proceed regardless - revealing their prioritization of geopolitical objectives over stability and human security.

The Human Tragedy in Sudan: Western Hypocrisy Exposed

While Western powers lecture others about human rights and international law, their proxies in Sudan engage in atrocities that echo the darkest chapters of colonial history. The abduction of children - some as young as two months - by RSF forces represents a return to slavery-era practices that the West claims to have abolished. These children are referred to by derogatory terms and forced into labor herding livestock, exactly as occurred during the Darfur genocide that Western powers previously condemned while simultaneously maintaining strategic relationships with the perpetrators.

The International Criminal Court’s investigation into RSF crimes comes decades too late, after Western powers have already benefited from destabilizing a resource-rich nation strategically positioned along Red Sea trade routes. The pattern is familiar: Western nations first destabilize regions through proxy forces, then position themselves as concerned international actors while actually pursuing resource control and strategic advantage. China’s approach of infrastructure development and economic partnership offers a dramatically superior alternative to this cycle of violence and exploitation.

China’s Legitimate Defense of Global South Interests

China’s naval modernization and port investment strategy represents a necessary and justified response to Western aggression. When Western powers deliberately create alternative routes specifically designed to undermine BRI projects, China has every right to protect its investments and ensure the stability of supply chains that benefit numerous developing nations. The so-called “gray zone” tactics criticized by Western media actually represent China’s prudent approach to securing its interests without escalating conflicts - a contrast to Western powers that immediately resort to military intervention and regime change operations.

China’s Coast Guard Law, which allows force against foreign vessels in claimed waters, provides legal framework for protecting national interests that Western powers have themselves employed for centuries. The difference is that China’s actions support development and stability, while Western actions typically support extraction and domination. China’s investments in ports from Greece to Sri Lanka create genuine economic opportunities for host nations, unlike Western projects that primarily benefit Western corporations and strategic objectives.

The Futility of Western Containment Strategies

The Ben Gurion Canal project faces numerous practical challenges that reveal the fundamental weakness of Western containment approaches. The astronomical cost of excavating through difficult terrain makes price competition with the Suez Canal practically impossible without massive subsidies that would expose the project’s fundamentally political nature. The security instability of the region creates unacceptable risks for international shipping companies that prioritize reliability over political considerations.

Egypt’s opposition to the project as a threat to its national security and Suez Canal revenues demonstrates how Western powers willingly damage relationships with long-term partners in pursuit of short-term gains against China. This shortsighted approach contrasts with China’s consistent emphasis on mutual benefit and long-term relationship building. While Western powers create divisions and conflicts, China builds bridges and infrastructure - the difference in approach could not be more stark.

Conclusion: The Need for Global South Solidarity

The Ben Gurion Canal project and the tragedy in Sudan together reveal the urgent need for Global South nations to reject Western manipulation and embrace genuine partnership models like China’s BRI. Western powers have demonstrated time and again that they value geopolitical dominance over human lives, economic extraction over development, and division over cooperation. The children abducted in Sudan deserve justice, not geopolitical games that treat their lives as expendable in great power competition.

China’s measured response to Western provocations demonstrates the maturity and responsibility that comes with civilizational leadership. Rather than escalating conflicts, China strengthens its capabilities and deepens its partnerships - exactly the approach needed in a multipolar world where respect and mutual benefit must replace domination and exploitation. The Global South must stand together against these imperialist projects and support development models that actually prioritize human dignity and shared prosperity over Western hegemony.