After taking office in August 2023, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet embarked on an ambitious $1.7 billion infrastructure project, known as the Funan Techo Canal. The China-funded project will run for 180 kilometers, connecting Phnom Penh Autonomous Port in the country’s capital to the coastal province of Kep. The canal, which will provide passage for cargo ships weighing up to 3,000 deadweight tonnes, also includes the construction of three water gate systems, 11 bridges, and a 208-kilometre sidewalk. The Cambodian government believes that the project will enhance the country’s economic development facilitating the transportation of manufactured goods between Phnom Penh and the deep seaport in Sihanoukville, reducing the country’s reliance on Vietnam as an outlet for its exports.
For this reason and others, the project has become a subject of concern for Vietnam. In December, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his concerns regarding the environmental impact of the project to Hun Manet when the latter paid a state visit to Vietnam. While promising to conduct its own assessment of the impact of the Funan Techo Canal, the state-backed Oriental Research Development Institute, published an article saying that the canal was “dual-use,” and could be used for military purposes as well as trade, given its proximity to the Ream Naval Base, which is currently being refurbished with Chinese support. The article wrote that “the locks on the Funan Techo Canal can create the necessary water depths for military vessels to enter from the Gulf of Thailand, or from Ream Naval Base, and travel deep into Cambodia and approach the (Cambodia-Vietnam) border.”