(Phnom Penh Comprehensive) Cambodia will build a canal under China's funding, and the United States urges Cambodia to increase transparency on this plan.Observer said that the canal may be used to strengthen China's military existence in Southeast Asian countries and constitute a potential security threat to neighboring countries such as Vietnam.
"Techo Funan Canal" extended from the coast of Baima Port to Port in Phnom Penh, connecting Lake Lake Donglisa, the Barcae of the Dongli, and the Mekong River, bypassing the ports in the south of Vietnam.
This cross -regional waterway is about 180 kilometers in length, and it is expected to cost $ 1.7 billion (about S $ 2.3 billion), which takes about four years to build.Last October, China Road and Bridge Group was awarded a contract at the "Belt and Road" summit in Beijing, and the project will begin this year.
Holze, a public diplomat at the US Embassy in Cambodia, said: "Increasing regional water resources management, sustainable agricultural development, and the transparency of major engineering projects with potential security will make the Cambodian people, neighbors and wider extensiveThe people in the region benefit. "
Horzer said: "We urge Cambodia officials to closely coordinate with the Mekong Commission, provide more project details, and participate in appropriate environmental impact research to help the Mekong Commission and member states be fully understood, evaluated and prepared for this project.Any influence.
Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns about China's growing military influence in Cambodia, including the upgrade and reconstruction project of Yunyang Naval Base funded by Beijing.
Vietnam is concerned about Dechong Funan Canal may be used for military
Vietnam is worried that the Dechong Funan Canal may be used for military purposes, which will cause changes in the sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea.The Vietnamese People's Public Security School quoted external studies last month that the canal "will create the necessary depth, which is enough to allow the warships to deeply inland from the Thai Bay or Yunyang Naval Base, which will have a significant impact on the defense and security situation of the entire region."
Vietnamese and Cambodian local communities are also worried that the canal on the water source and ecological environment of the Canal on the Mekong River.Studies in the Southeast Asia project in the Stin Sheng Center in the United States stated that the canal may play a role in the dam, preventing the water from reaching the key areas of the Mekong River Delta in southern Vietnam, which leads to the formation of arid areas south of the canal and form a humid area in the north of the canal, which seriously affects agricultural activities, which seriously affects agricultural activities.And endanger the habitat of fragile species in this area.
Among the 1.5 million Cambodians living in the region that are living in the Canal Institute, some must be moved by the canal.These communities and their local activities are facing considerable interference.
Cambodia Prime Minister Hongma Nei last Thursday (April 11) emphasized that it will promote the construction of the canal and refute the above statement.He said: "We will not allow any country to use us as a base for another country, let alone military bases."
Hongmanet said that the Dechong Funan Canal will promote economic development, benefit millions of people, and emphasize that it will not affect the mainstream water flow of the Mekong River.
Hongma's father and Chairman of the Cambodian Senate, Hun Sen, also refuted on the social media X platform: "Why does Cambodia enters the Chinese army in violation of the constitution?P>
