Panama’s president has rejected a plan by Donald Trump to “take back” the Panama Canal, telling his US counterpart the key trade route “is and will remain” in the country’s hands.
In his inaugural speech, President Trump claimed that Panama had “broken” a promise to remain neutral, alleging that “China is operating the Panama Canal”.
President Jose Raul Mulino said he rejected Trump’s words in their “entirety”, adding there is “no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration”.
The Panama Canal is one of the US’s most important trade routes, with about 40% of all the country’s container ships passing through the waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
In the first address of his second term, Trump claimed: “American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form and that includes the United States Navy.
“And above all China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
The US built the canal in the early 20th century but, after years of protest, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with Panama in 1977 to gradually hand back control of the waterway, which Trump has branded “a big mistake”.
In 1999, Panama took full control of the canal with a treaty in place that it remain neutral and open to vessels of all nations.
Following Trump’s address, Mulino said in a social media post on X: “The canal was not a concession from anyone. It was the result of generational struggles that culminated in 1999.”
Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa operates two ports on the waterway – the Port of Balboa on the Pacific side of the route while Cristobal operates on the Atlantic end.
Around 5% of global maritime trade passes through the 51-mile Panama Canal.
Last week, Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, told a senate confirmation hearing “the very legitimate concern is these companies control both ends of this canal and at a time of conflict and the Chinese tell them ‘shut it down and don’t let the US go through there’ we got a big, big problem. A big economic problem and a big national security and defence problem”.
In his speech, Trump said that he wanted to be a “peacemaker” but Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia under President Obama wrote on social media: “You can’t be a president of peace and take back the Panama Canal.”
As well as the Panama Canal, Trump has previously also said he wanted to acquire Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory. Denmark rejected any suggestion they would give it up.
Trump did not mention Greenland in his address but he set out his expansionist vision for the next four years.
“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons,” he said.
