Funan Techno Canal: Chinese Gambit in Cambodia

Alarm bells for Washington and Vietnam

In the summer of 2023, the Cambodian government announced that construction on a 180-km canal, funded by the state-owned China Bridge and Road Corporation, would commence this year and be completed in 2028, linking the Bassac River in the capital Phnom Penh with the Gulf of Thailand in the coastal town of Kep and enabling a significant amount of Cambodian goods to bypass Vietnam’s ports, creating some independence for the country’s foreign trade. It would be the first waterway linking Phnom Penh to the coast, stretching through regions including Kadal and Takeo to reach Krong Kampot.

This news has set off alarm bells in Hanoi and Washington, both of which fear Chinese military implications as well as generating substantial environmental concerns. Combined with what appears to be a Chinese naval base in nearby Ream on the coast (and one which, thus far, has seen exclusive Chinese access) as well as what is likely a Chinese military airport in coastal Koh Kong province, these concerns appear justified.

Former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, still a potent force despite having stepped down and handing the reins to his second son, dismissed the aforementioned concerns as “slanderous” words from “non-friends” of Cambodia…