Sun Lee
The proposal by Cambodia to construct a navigation canal worth US$1.7 billion that would connect the port of the capital city, Phnom Penh, to the nation’s coastline has sparked apprehensions in Vietnam. The worry stems from the potential for this project to facilitate a more substantial presence of the Chinese military.
The Funan Techo Canal project, spanning 180km and terminating in the coastal province of Kep in Cambodia near the Vietnamese border, is anticipated to be undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, a state-owned entity of China. The project will be executed under a build-operate-transfer agreement, permitting the corporation to manage the canal for approximately 50 years as compensation for financing its construction. The commencement of the project is projected for 2024 with completion expected by 2028.
Cambodian authorities have been vocal about the benefits of the canal, emphasizing its potential to reroute Cambodian trade, bypassing the need for transit through Vietnamese ports. The Prime Minister, Hun Manet, has highlighted the job creation prospects for the 1.6 million inhabitants residing along the proposed canal route, all without increasing the nation’s foreign debt. However, a note of caution has been sounded by researchers affiliated with a Vietnamese state-supported institute. They have expressed concerns that the canal, while fostering socio-economic growth, could also serve a “dual-use” purpose by enabling a deeper Chinese military presence in Cambodian territory, uncomfortably close to Vietnam’s border.
Mr Dinh Thien and Mr Thanh Minh, two researchers with the Oriental Research Development Institute under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations mentioned this in an article, that the locks on the Funan Techo Canal can create the necessary water depths for Chinese 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. The journal article from March 2024 was replicated on the People’s Public Security Political Academy’s website on the 18th of March.
The two researchers further said that the Funan Techo Canal is not simply a socio-economic project but also has major military value, which would have a strong impact on the defence and security situation of the whole region.
At present, China is assisting in the enhancement of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base. Despite sightings of Chinese warships at Ream as recently as March, Phnom Penh has refuted allegations of providing the Chinese navy access to its base in exchange for this assistance. Vietnam and China have intersecting territorial claims in the South China Sea. The apprehensions voiced in the March article, primarily centered on the potential environmental repercussions of the canal project, are among the most recent concerns highlighted by Vietnamese scholars.
While the official statements from Hanoi have been rather restrained, reports from Cambodian media indicate that Mr. Hun Manet attempted to alleviate the concerns of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh regarding the canal during his formal visit to Hanoi in December 2023.
A document from August 2023, dispatched by the Cambodia National Mekong Committee to the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission – a group that also includes Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos – states that the Funan Techo Canal would have a minimum depth of 4.7m and a width of 50m at its base. The document further notes that any impact from the canal would be largely temporary and confined to the construction phase. However, a March 2024 article by Vietnamese researchers posits that the canal could lead to a reduction in the water flow into Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.
Brian Eyler, who heads the South-east Asia Programme at the Stimson Centre based in the US and is a keen observer of the Mekong River system, has put forth the idea that the Funan Techo Canal could potentially function as a levee. This would obstruct water from reaching crucial areas of the Mekong Delta located in the southern part of Vietnam.
Eyler explained to The Straits Times that this is due to the expansive nature of the Mekong’s water flow, which can stretch up to 50km in width as it moves downstream during the rainy season in the later part of the year.
He elaborated that the canal is set to intersect this vast flood plain, functioning much like a dam. The water, which would typically flow downstream, will encounter the canal and begin to move laterally towards the ocean, guided by gravity and the land’s gradient. This will result in the formation of a dry area south of the canal and a more humid region to its north, but China is not interested in the environmental hazards of this region caused by the canal project, China wants to fulfil its strategic interests only.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Cambodia has refrained from responding to any inquiries concerning the environmental repercussions of the canal project. Despite the anticipated commencement of the canal’s construction in 2024, a significant number of local residents along the proposed route are still unaware of the specifics of its execution.
In a statement, Mr. Chey Saman, the head of the Somrong Thom commune in Kandal province, which the canal is slated to traverse, shared that the villagers are persistently inquiring about the project. They are curious about its nature, its scale, and the potential impact on their land. They are seeking a fair valuation for their land. Despite their continuous queries, he confessed that he is yet to have any definitive answers for them. Nevertheless, he continues to be an ardent advocate of the development. He pointed out that at present, the local farmers lack a direct route to the global market for their produce, and are compelled to route their goods via Vietnam and Thailand, resulting in lower prices for their crops. He expressed his belief that the canal would pave the way for direct exports, leading to an increase in export prices, thereby enhancing the livelihoods of the people.
China’s Funan Techo Canal project in Cambodia in the Mekong River is raising environmental and geopolitical concerns. The construction is disrupting ecological patterns, impacting biodiversity, and altering water flow, which could have severe consequences for local communities and ecosystems. Simultaneously, the project is seen as a strategic move by China to establish a stronger military presence near Vietnam. This dual impact of environmental erosion and potential military escalation underscores the complex implications of such large-scale infrastructure projects, necessitating a careful balance between development and preservation.
Sun Lee is the pseudonym for a writer who covers Asian affairs.
