A senior member of Cambodia’s opposition has raised concerns that the government’s relocation of ethnic Vietnamese residents from floating homes on the Tonle Sap lake to land-based housing may result in these individuals receiving Cambodian land and potentially even citizenship.
Speaking to The Cambodia Daily on Monday, Candlelight Party parliamentarian Um Sam An warned that Cambodian citizens who have lost their nationality could see both their land and citizenship transferred to ethnic Vietnamese families living in the country without legal status.
Um Sam An expressed skepticism over the government’s decision to move ethnic Vietnamese residents, many of whom live illegally on floating structures, to land settlements and allocate them social land concessions. He noted that the relocation comes at a time when parliament is amending laws that could strip certain Cambodians of their citizenship.
He suggested the government’s actions may be a deliberate move to deprive stateless Cambodians of land rights, making way for ethnic Vietnamese residents to acquire both land and nationality. Under Cambodian law, individuals who lose their citizenship also forfeit legal rights to own land.
This is not the first time the government has provided land to Vietnamese families. In a previous initiative, 40 hectares of land and housing were granted to Vietnamese residents in Kampong Chhnang province. However, authorities have not announced any additional land grants for Vietnamese nationals at this time.
On July 10, Prime Minister Hun Manet signed a directive establishing a new commission to address issues surrounding floating homes and fish farming structures on the Tonle Sap lake. The directive, made public on Sunday, targets five provinces surrounding the lake.
The second article of the directive outlines 13 strategic principles. The first calls for the development of medium and long-term plans to relocate floating homes onto land. Article six mentions the allocation of social land concessions and the development of necessary infrastructure. Article eight refers to enforcement measures against illegal immigrants currently living on the water, in line with Cambodian immigration law.
Responding to the announcement, Cambodian Watchdog Council president Man Nath told The Cambodia Daily that the relocation of floating homes, many occupied by undocumented ethnic Vietnamese, and the provision of social land reflect long-standing requests from the Vietnamese government.
According to Man Nath, Vietnamese leaders have repeatedly urged Cambodian authorities to legalize the status of undocumented Vietnamese residents and to improve their living conditions.
Back in late 2019, then former Prime Minister Hun Sen organized a similar relocation project in Kampong Chhnang province, relocating over 4,500 families from floating homes to land-based housing. Of these, more than 2,300 were ethnic Vietnamese families, representing a population of over 10,000 people. The remainder included Cambodian and Khmer-Islam families.
This latest initiative revives concerns about land ownership, national identity and immigration, issues that remain highly sensitive in Cambodia’s political landscape.
