Vietnam’s Ministry of Investment and Planning issued a warning to its government about official development assistance and preferential loans from China, saying that many such projects have been poorly executed and cost Hanoi more than expected, the Nikkei Asian Review reports. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Myanmar was planning to scale back a Chinese-backed port on its western coast, sharply reducing the cost of the project after concerns it could leave the Southeast Asian nation heavily indebted. The National Review editorial argues that at the heart of the BRI is debt-trap diplomacy: China oversells the benefits of these infrastructure projects, offers credit for them on onerous terms, and, when the bill comes due and its debtors aren’t able to pay, demands control over the infrastructure and influence in the region to compensate.