On the afternoon of May 9, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the press continued to pay attention to the Funan Techo canal project built by Cambodia.

The press quoted information from a statement by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, affirming that the country has not neglected to provide information about the Funan Techo Canal to Vietnam. He also said that the project only requires 5m3/s, equivalent to 0.053% of the river flow, and emphasized that the Funan Techo Canal even contributes to flood mitigation in southern Vietnam.

Commenting on these statements, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said, "The information we have so far about the Funan Techo canal project is not enough to specifically assess the project's impact."

The spokesperson stressed that Vietnam hopes that Cambodia will continue to closely coordinate with Vietnam and other countries in the Mekong River Commission to fully share information and assess in detail the impact of this project on water resources and the ecological environment of the Mekong sub-region. These are also common and long-term management measures to ensure the harmony of interests of riparian countries, and the effective and sustainable management and use of Mekong River water resources.

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Funan Canal route diagram (according to MRC).

On May 5, in response to a reporter's question asking for Vietnam's reaction to Cambodia's recent statements on the implementation of the Funan Techo Canal project, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said: "Vietnam is very interested in and respects Cambodia's legitimate interests in the spirit of the 1995 Mekong Agreement, in accordance with relevant regulations of the Mekong River Commission and the traditional friendly neighborly relations between the two countries."

On May 6, receiving Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam to attend the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam wishes to cooperate closely with Cambodia and other countries in the Mekong River basin in the activities of using, managing, protecting and sustainably developing the Mekong River, ensuring the harmony of interests of riparian countries for the sustainable development of the basin and the interests of the people in the basin.

The Funan Techo Canal is planned to be 180km long, connecting Prek Takeo on the Mekong River to Prek Ta Ek and Prek Ta Hing on the Bassac River, then emptying into the Gulf of Thailand in southwestern Cambodia.

The canal passes through four provinces, Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep, with about 1.6 million people living on both sides.

Funan Techo is expected to be 100m wide upstream, 80m downstream, 5.4m deep, including a navigation depth of 4.7m and a safety margin of 0.7m, allowing cargo ships with a full load of up to 3,000 tons to pass through in the dry season and 5,000 tons in the rainy season. The canal has two lanes, allowing vehicles to enter and exit and avoid each other safely.

Vietnam wishes to cooperate with Cambodia to sustainably develop the Mekong River.

Vietnam wishes to cooperate with Cambodia to sustainably develop the Mekong River.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam wishes to cooperate closely with Cambodia and other countries in the Mekong River basin in the use, management, protection and sustainable development of the Mekong River.
Vietnam speaks out about Cambodia's construction of Funan Techo canal

Vietnam speaks out about Cambodia's construction of Funan Techo canal

Regarding the Funan Techo Canal project, Vietnam is very interested in and respects Cambodia's legitimate interests. Vietnam hopes that Cambodia will continue to coordinate in sharing information and fully assessing the impacts of this project.