Techo Funan Canal:
Cambodia will start constructing the Chinese-backed Techo Funan Canal.
- The 180-km canal aims to connect the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast.
- Despite tensions with Vietnam and concerns about potential military use by China, Cambodia asserts the canal will reduce reliance on Vietnamese ports, lower transportation costs, and benefit millions of people through improved irrigation.
- Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country bordering Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, with a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.
- A 1997 coup established Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party’s dominance, making Cambodia a de facto one-party state despite being constitutionally multi-party.
- Designated a least developed country by the UN, Cambodia is a member of ASEAN, WTO, and other international organizations.
- Its economy is primarily agricultural, with growing sectors in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism, making it vulnerable to climate change.
