In May 2023, Cambodia's then Prime Minister Hun Sen approved the country's first major waterway project - the Funan Techo Canal. The 180-kilometre canal, to be built by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), will link the capital Phnom Penh to the coastal province of Kep via tributaries of the vital Mekong River.

Regional neighbours such as Vietnam fear it could affect the flow of the Mekong River and undermine the 1995 Mekong Agreement on the joint management of the waterway. Concerns remain about the potential impact of the Chinese-built canal on communities, livelihoods and ecosystems across Southeast Asia that depend on the Mekong.