US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warns Panama about China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal
Panama City: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Panama about China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal in Panama City. He described the situation as “unacceptable” and threatened to take “necessary measures” if changes are not made.
Rubio expressed U.S. President Donald Trump’s concerns at a meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez and President Jose Raul Mulino in Panama City on Sunday.
President Donald 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,” according to a statement from the State Department’s Tammy Bruce.
Rubio said unequivocally that the existing state of affairs regarding the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal is “unacceptable” and that “absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.”
Rubio made his first trip to Panama since becoming the top ambassador for the United States on Saturday.
CNN claimed that Rubio’s decision to go to Central America, which includes Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, is deliberate and intended to further the Trump agenda by “paying closer attention to our own neighborhood.”
Trump said in his inauguration speech on January 20 that the US would “take it back” from China, which is “operating” the Panama Canal, since the US has been treated “unfairly.”
“The United States, I mean, think of this, spent more money than ever before on a project and lost 38 lives in the building of the Panama Canal,” he stated after taking the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Panama’s promise to us has been breached, and we have received really poor treatment as a result of this stupid gift that should never have been given.”
In response to Trump’s threats, Panamanian President Mulino said that no country should meddle in Panama’s internal affairs and that the Panama Canal would remain under Panamanian authority.
“In the interest of the Republic of Panama and its citizens, let us give careful thought to what President Donald Trump said about Panama and its Canal during his inauguration address. In his address to the nation on December 22, he reiterated that the Canal is and will remain under Panamanian authority in accordance with its permanent neutrality. No country in the world is present that meddles in our governance,” he said.
