Pentagon head says Panama Canal will be evacuated from China's “influence” – State
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to Central American countries that the United States will regain the Panama Canal from China's influence.
After meeting with the Panamanian government, Heggs vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panamanian forces and said China would not be allowed to “weaponize” the canal by using commercial relations of Chinese companies.
“Together we will take back the Panama Canal from China's influence,” said Heggs, speaking at a dock with the help of the United States in Panama City.
“China has not built this canal. China has not operated this canal, and China will not weaponize this canal. Together with Panama, we will keep the canal safe and provide it to all countries.”
More than 40% of our container flow is worth about $270 billion per year, covering the Panama Canal, passing through the world’s second most clumsy transsensory waterways every day, accounting for more than two-thirds of the ships.
Heggs is expected to feature a close-up of the Panama Canal late Tuesday, the first day of a rare visit, a country that is still upset by Trump's threat to retake the canal.
Hegseth talked about eliminating China's influence while Trump spoke from a broader perspective and did not rule out the use of military power when necessary.
Hegseth, the first person to visit by the U.S. Secretary of Defense in decades, traveled on the report that the Trump administration had asked the U.S. military to secure access to the canal, which the U.S. built more than a century ago and handed over to Panama in 1999.
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Trump complained that this was a bad deal for the United States.
Heggs was welcomed by Panama's Public Safety Minister Frank Abrego and held a closed meeting with Jose Raul Mulino and other officials.
Given Trump's difficult remarks, Hergus' visit was high.
“In general, this is not a matter of victory for the United States when it comes to public diplomacy in Panama,” said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Still, current and former U.S. officials and experts say the U.S. is still willing to address China's influence in Murino.
In February, Mulino announced that Panama had formally taken action to withdraw from China's roads and road initiatives, helping Trump's crackdown on immigration.
He has accepted deportation from non-cargo personnel and has tried to stop South American migration through those who have travelled through the country's dangerous Darien jungle.
Hegseth praised Mulino for saying his administration understands China's threat and that his remarks about Panama's leadership in addressing canal security seem to be a tribute to Panama's sensitivity.
Hegseth is a U.S. military veteran and former Fox News host, who enthusiastically supports Trump’s southern security agenda by sending U.S. troops to the U.S. border with Mexico and providing military aircraft for deportation flights.
Trump mistakenly claimed that China was operating the canal, and even Heggs said it was incorrect on Tuesday, with Chinese soldiers present.
However, experts acknowledge that U.S. security issues, especially about espionage, have a huge Chinese business in Panama, which also includes plans for Chinese companies to build bridges on the canal.
Last month, Trump celebrated a deal led by U.S. company BlackRock to buy most of Hong Kong's $22.8 billion port business, including its ports at both ends of the Panama Canal.
Trump said the purchase is an example of how the United States “recycles” the canal.
But China criticized this, with market regulators saying it would conduct an antitrust review of the deal.
Current and former U.S. officials say the Panama Canal is crucial to the passage of U.S. warships in any conflict in Asia, as naval ships will go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific to support war efforts.
Even without blocking the canal, China can have a huge advantage by surveillance of the ships passing through it.
Nevertheless, John Heefey, of the U.S. Ambassador to Panama from 2015 to 2018, made a claim against the Trump administration that China's existence in Panama is a violation of the US Panama Treaty.
“What Trump's way of doing this is not legal is the bullying tactic he used, that is, claiming to violate the neutral treaty. No.”
Mulino defended the management of the Panama Canal, saying it was handled responsibly for world trade, including the United States, that it was “and will continue to be Panaman.”
–Reports by Phil Stewart; other reports by Idrees Ali; Editors by Clarence Fernandez, Rod Nickel and Alistair Bell
