BANGKOK -- There are two "friendship bridges" spanning the Tonle Sap river in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. One is labeled the Cambodia-Japanese friendship bridge; the other is the Cambodia-China friendship bridge.
Sitting almost side by side, the bridges are an unintended reflection of the rivalry between Japan and China, in Cambodia and across much of the surrounding Mekong region, where the two countries are the largest donors and investors.