PANAMA CITY: US top diplomat Marco Rubio warned Panama to immediately take steps to address US concerns over Chinese businesses operating ports near the canal, which President Donald Trump has said represent a threat to US national security.
The US and Panama made progress on key migration and business issues during Rubio’s visit in Panama City, but failed to find common ground over the Panama Canal’s operations, with President Jose Mulino saying his country’s sovereignty over the world’s second busiest waterway is not up for discussion.
“Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal,” said US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
Trump has refused to rule out use of military force over Panama, drawing criticism from Washington’s Latin American friends and foes alike. In a senate hearing last week, US officials said fines and restrictions on Panamanian-flag vessels entering US ports could be imposed due to the dispute over the canal.
Following his meeting with Rubio, which he said was respectful and cordial, Mulino announced that a memorandum of understanding signed in July with the US Department of Homeland security could be expanded so Venezuelans, Colombians and Ecuadoreans can be returned from the perilous Darien Gap at US cost, through an airstrip in Panama.
Mulino also showed willingness to review some Chinese businesses in Panama, including a key 25-year concession to Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, renewed in 2021 for the operation of ports at both entrances of the canal, pending the results of an audit.
The contract has been targeted by US lawmakers and the government as an example of China’s expansion in Panama, which they claim goes against a neutrality treaty signed by both countries in 1977.
Panama’s government and some experts reject that assertion, mainly because the ports are not part of the canal’s operations and have not represented a security issue.
