Vietnamese concerned canal project in Cambodia could be potential gateway for Chinese forces

Chey Saman, the chief of Somrong Thom commune in Kandal province where the canal will pass through, walking next to the Mekong River. - ST

KANDAL, Cambodia: Cambodia’s plan to build a US$1.7 billion navigation canal linking capital Phnom Penh’s port to the country’s coast has raised concerns in Vietnam about the larger Chinese military presence it could enable.

The 180km Funan Techo Canal project, which ends in the coastal Cambodian province of Kep near the Vietnam border, is expected to be developed by Chinese state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.