Panama and Trump TV: What is the extent of China’s impact?
President Donald Trump’s administration believes that Chinese influence is a major threat.
During it The opening letterHe reiterated his desire to regain control of the Panama channel, the vital strategic waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Marco Rubio, Foreign Minister of Mr. Trump, said in his confirmation session that China “is the most powerful and dangerous near the glasses of this nation has faced this nation.” During his visit to Panama on Sunday, he stated that Panama should reduce China’s influence in the channel.
Why did we write this
The Trump administration wants to knock on what it says is the effect of China on the Panama channel. Here, we explain the American risks and relationship with Panama and the channel.
In a summary of the US State Department for his meeting with the Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, Mr. Rubio said that if the Central American country does not do this, “the United States will require necessary measures to protect its rights under the treaty.”
Here is a deeper look at some of the questions raised by Mr. Trump’s comments.
What is the canal situation now?
The channel is owned by the Panama Channel Authority, which is a government agency. Control of the United States from the completion of 1914 to 1999, when it was delivered to Panama under 1977 Treaty Torgos Carter. The first of these treaties allows the American army to maintain the neutrality of the channel, allowing the permanent use of the United States of the channel.
The channel is one of the most prominent waterways in the world and it is especially important for the United States with an estimated 2.5 % of the global commercial tapes that the sea transports through it, and 40 % From all that the traffic in American containers crosses annually, as it represents the United States 74.7 % of all long loadsBurning scale, which passes through the canal.
Mr. Trump claims that “China runs the Panama Channel”, but this is not the case. She works as Chinese companies, Landbridge and CK HUTCISON HOLDINGS, based in Hong Kong, ports on both ends of the channel. But the other three ports near the channel are operated by an American company, Taiwanese company, and Singaporean, respectively.
The channel faces a set of issues, including intense and widely flowing Dehydration. This led to a reduction in water levels, the number of ships capable of passing, and led the Panama Channel authority to raise the price of the outcome for compensation.
What are Trump’s issues with the channel?
The higher fees are among the reasons that Mr. Trump said that the American shipment was running “Excessive shipping.” Ships pay fees to use the channel, and because the United States has most shipping, they pay a huge amount of these fees. Panama says that the rates of losses, which are calculated using an applicable formula globally, are fairly applied to all ships, regardless of nationality.
In addition to its economic value, the channel is important for the United States, Sisi is a political. It connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the navy will have to sail around the total South America if it is lost. It is also an essential element in Lichpin’s economy and Lichpin to participate in the region.
“I think people in the Trump administration only want to make sure they have absolute control over [the canal]Michael Beckley, director of the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, says. “The Trump administration is looking for ways to rid the gates and reduce America’s exposure to China’s threats.”
How does this fit with greater questions about relations between the United States of China?
Mr. Trump’s anti -Kina’s speech is the cornerstone of what he says about Panama. Mr. Beckley says that Chinese companies that control ports at each end can facilitate the Chinese government to collect important data on what is going through the channel.
On a wider scale, China has been expanding its presence in Latin America through large -scale investment and infrastructure projects – including its recent opening. Megaport in ChancayPeru. Several experts say that the Banama channel securing it can be a way to verify the Chinese influence.
There is a new wave of excessive charging ships very large for the Panama channel that is increasingly used by Chinese charging, “says Douglas Palal, a Carnegieh Liberation Researcher for International Peace. It is more efficient, and the new Peruvian port can submit competition to the channel with the highways that link it to the threshold.
How can this play?
Dr. Beckley, Dr. Pallal, and Robert Ross, Professor of Political Science at Boston College and an expert in Chinese security policy and relations between the United States of China, all see Mr. Trump’s desire to restore the Panama channel as a consistency.
“Frankly, I think a lot of this [Mr. Trump] Dr. Beckley says: It seems more than the public relations step more than the geopolitical movement.
The United States has influence in Panama, as its large share of the shipment was presented most 2.5 billion dollars The channel, which was made for the Panamanian government in 2023, in addition to commercial relations and $ 3.8 billion in US investment annually In industries such as energy and infrastructure.
Panama President Molino confirmed that sovereignty on the channel is not a discussion. But after talks with Mr. Rubio on February 2, he set the possibility Return more immigrants and He indicated that he will review the agreements involved in China and Chinese companies.
Dr. Palla also believes that Mr. Trump’s focus will move away from Panama, as issues in the Middle East and Asia may have precedence.
The use of military force is not largely possible, according to Dr. Ross. “There is no Chinese security presence that can reduce American access to the channel,” he says. At the end of the day, he says, the United States is simply a tremendous freedom closer to the channel, which prevents any serious challenge to this access.
In addition, Mr. Trump said he wanted to end wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and threatened to leave NATO. Dr. Ross says that Mr. Trump really wanted to emphasize the return of American forces to the home, the occupation of Panama will be a full shift.
Even if the United States invades, Dr. Pal says, “China [could] Say, “Taiwan belongs to us, and we also return it.” We will be very busy with our fleet in the Panama Channel area, we will already have a very few ships to protect Taiwan. “