President Donald Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal on Sunday, warning of “powerful” US action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the Central American country over China’s presence around the vital waterway.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
Hours earlier, the diplomatic stir caused by Trump’s repeated and publicly stated desire for the US to retake control of the canal had appeared to ease after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, met with Panama’s President Raúl Mulino.
Though Mulino told Rubio that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal was not up for debate, he also said he had addressed Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s purported influence around the waterway.
Panama would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s overseas development initiative, known as the Belt and Road initiative, Mulino said, also suggesting that the deal with Beijing could end early.
Mulino told reporters that Panama will seek to work with the US on new investments, including infrastructure projects. “I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible US investments in Panama,” he said.
During the meeting, Rubio told Panama’s president and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha that concerns over China’s “control” of the Panama Canal may mean the US has to “take measures necessary to protect its rights” per a longstanding treaty on the neutrality and operation of the canal.
The canal was returned to Panama under a 1977 treaty, which allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or a foreign power. Today, more cargo than ever runs through the canal than it did during the years of US control.
Mulino said Sunday he doesn’t think there is a real risk that the US would use military force to retake the canal.
‘Panama won’t invest a single dollar in it’
Mulino also said Panamanian authorities are carrying out an audit on a company linked to China that operates two terminals around the canal.
“We have to wait until that audit ends before we can reach our legal conclusions and act accordingly,” Mulino said.
The company in question is the Panama Ports Company, part of a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings. Hutchinson Ports is one of the world’s largest port operators, overseeing 53 ports in 24 countries, including for other US allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
As CNN has previously reported, Hutchison does not control access to the Panama Canal. Workers at their two ports only load and unload containers onto ships and supply them with fuel. Three other ports in the vicinity of the canal are operated by competing companies providing similar services.
Mulino also said Panamanian authorities spoke with Rubio about the possibility of expanding a migrant repatriation flight program to remove foreign nationals who don’t have the legal basis to be in Panama, insisting that the US would have to shoulder the costs.
Asked to clarify if migrants would come to Panama and subsequently be transferred to their respective countries, Mulio said, “Yes. Exactly … We can do that, without a problem, under the total cost of the US. Panama won’t invest a single dollar in it.”
The program, signed in July, is aimed at reducing irregular migration through the Darien Gap, a mountainous rainforest region connecting South and Central America. The 66-mile (106-kilometer) hike through the Darien brings migrants from Colombia to Panama and is a crucial passage for those hoping to reach the United States and Canada.
Mulino said Sunday that those repatriated could include migrants from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and other countries. (CNN)
This story has been updated with additional information.
