Hun Sen defends Cambodia's navigation canal project

Senate leader denies that I8Okm canal could allow Chinese military access to Mekong River

- Tan Hui Yee

Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen on April 9 denied recent suggestions that an upcoming navigation canal project through the country's south could facilitate the entry of Chinese naval ships up the Mekong River.

"Why would Cambodia bring Chinese troops into its country, which violates the Constitution? And why would China bring its troops to Cambodia, which is contrary to the principle of respect for Cambodia's independence?" he wrote on the platform X.

Cambodia envisions the US$1.7 billion (S$2.3 billion), 180km Funan Techo canal, which links Phnom Penh's river port to the coast, as a key artery for economic growth by allowing Cambodian goods to bypass Vietnamese ports and also create jobs for the 1.6 million people living en route.

Construction of the project, which connects Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces, is expected to be carried out by Chinese companies under a build-operatetransfer arrangement. This would allow them to manage and profit from its operations for some 50 years in return for funding the project.