Unlock the White House Watch watch newsletter for free
Your guide on what the US elections of 2024 mean for Washington and Le Monde
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Sunday to reduce China’s influence on the Panama Canal or cope with immediate consequences.
Rubio met Mulino in the city of Panama and said that President Donald Trump had determined that China posed “a threat to the channel” and had violated a treaty concerning its neutrality, according to the spokesman for the State Department, Tammy Bruce.
Unless the situation changes, the United States “would take the necessary measures to protect its rights under the treaty,” wrote Bruce.
“The United States cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal region,” wrote Rubio on X.
Mulino, president of Panama, pro-enterprise, described an assertion of previous Trump that Chinese soldiers operated the channel as “nonsense” and insisted on the navigable path “is and will always be that of Panama”.
The United States has built the 82 km canal connecting the Pacific and the Caribbean over a century ago and controlled it and a section of territory adjacent until it would sign a treaty in 1977 for a progressive transfer to Panama, which was completed in 1999.
The treaty guarantees the permanent neutrality of the canal and allows the United States to intervene if neutrality is raped.
During the attack on Chinese influence, American criticisms of Panama focused on two ports at each end of the canal which are led by Hutchison Ports, an arm of the conglomerate listed in Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings, under long concessions. They were renewed without tender process in 2021 for 25 years.
Mulino recognized us on Sunday concerns about ports and noted that his government had launched an audit of port concessions, which hold a market share of almost 40%, in the midst of speculation in Panama that they could be canceled.
It is not clear, however, if the cancellation of Chinese concessions would be sufficient to satisfy Trump, who described the “complete scam” channel costs and demanded that the United States are taking over the channel.
On Sunday, around 200 people walked in the capital of Panama, wearing national flags and shouting “Marco Rubio du Panama” while the meeting of the American secretary took place, reported the Associated Press. Some burned a banner with images from Trump and Rubio.
In another gesture towards the United States, Mulino said that Panama’s participation in the initiative of the belt and road infrastructure of China would not be renewed, without giving date for its expiration. Panama joined Belt and Road in 2017 when he changed diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.
In recent years, Chinese companies controlled by the State have built a huge congress center near the mouth of the canal and build a new bridge on the navigable track and a cruise ship, contracts that have been obtained Through tenders. Beijing sought to build a large new embassy on land near the canal until the US objections kill the program.
During his meeting with Mulino and the Panamanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Martínez-Acha, Rubio also praised Panama’s efforts to end illegal migration and “underlined the desire for an improved investment climate and guarantee An equitable playground for fair competition from American companies, “according to Bruce.
The number of migrants illegally crossing the Darién jungle between Panama and Colombia – a main international migration route to the United States in recent years – has plunged since Trump took office. The figures fell 94% last month compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the National Migration Authority in Panama.
