The executive director of the Panama Canal has denied President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that the waterway built by the United States more than a century ago is now under control over China.
“The accusations that China manages the canal are unfounded,” the head of the Panama Canal Authority Ricaurte Vásquez Morales he told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “China has no involvement in our operations.”
“Rules are rules and there are no exceptions,” Vásquez Morales reportedly added. “We cannot discriminate against the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else. It will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos.”
In the 1970s, then-President Jimmy Carter negotiated what became known as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which agreed that the United States could use military force to defend the waterway against any threat to its “neutrality.” This aspect was considered crucial for the US at that time amidst the threat of the Soviet states. Carter also agreed that the Panama Canal would be handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999.
TRUMP: CARTER WAS A ‘VERY GOOD’ PERSON, BUT THE PANAMA CANAL MOVES WERE A ‘BIG MISTAKE’
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
On Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump at Mar-a-Lago if he would reassure the world that he would not use “military or economic coercion” to take control of the Panama Canal as well as Greenland.
“No, I can’t convince you of either of those two. But, I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said. “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s run by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China. And they abused it. They abused it as a gift. It should never have been made.”
As former President Carter lay in state in the Capitol, Trump said he liked the man but disagreed with the deal he made on the canal.
“The giving up of the Panama Canal is why Jimmy Carter lost the election, in my opinion, maybe more than the hostages. The hostages were a big deal. But if you remember, nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal because, you know, it’s inappropriate, I guess, but because it’s a bad part of Carter’s legacy,” Trump later added. “But he was a good man. Look, he was a good man. I know him a little and he was a very good person. But it was a big mistake.”
President Carter speaks next to his wife Rosalynn upon his arrival in Panama City for the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty on June 16, 1978. (AP Photo)
This is not the first time that the Panamanian government has denied China’s influence.
Last month, Trump posted on TRUTH Social: “Merry Christmas to everyone, including the wonderful Chinese soldiers who lovingly but illegally operate the Panama Canal.”
In response, President of Panama José Raúl Mulino he dismissed the claim as “nonsense”, saying at a press conference: “There is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal”.
“The canal is Panamanian and belongs to the Panamanians. There is no possibility of opening any conversation about this reality,” he added, according to the BBC.
TRUMP PRESENTS THE IDEA TO RETURN THE PANAMA CANAL: ‘WE GAVE IT A STUPID’
Trump’s concerns echo concerns from the US Ministry of Defense due to growing Chinese investment in seaports around the world.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee last March, Gen. Laura J. Richardson, head of the US Southern Command, told lawmakers that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “communicates its investments as peaceful, but in fact many serve as a point future multi-domain approach for PLA and strategic naval strongholds.”
“These investments include critical infrastructure such as deep-water ports, cyber facilities and space facilities,” Richardson warned. “In Panama, PRC-controlled state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to compete for projects related to the Panama Canal – a global strategic hub.”
Five percent of world trade passes through the Panama Canal, Richardson said.
A cargo ship passes the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, on September 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
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The two ports on either side of the Panama Canal have been operated for decades by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports PPC, the New York Times reported, noting that the Chinese government increasingly its national security laws on Hong Kong Island that can compel companies to comply with intelligence gathering and military operations.
Approximately 40% of US container traffic passes through the Panama Canal in the newspaper.
