US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday his country would “take back” the Panama Canal from Chinese influence. Pete Hegseth, who is visiting the Central American nation, vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panamanian security forces and said China would not be allowed to “weaponize” the canal.
“Together, we will take back the Panama Canal from China’s influence,” Hegseth said while speaking at a pier renovated with US assistance in Panama City, according to Reuters.
“China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal and China will not weaponize this canal. Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations,” he added.
The more-than-century-old canal was built by the United States and handed over to Panama in 1999.
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A Hong Kong company called Panama Ports operates two ports at either end of the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, through which five per cent of all global shipping passes.
Hegseth is the second senior US official to visit Panama since President Donald Trump took office in January vowing to “take back” the US-built canal to counter what he sees as China’s disproportionate influence over the waterway.
In February, Trump claimed that Panama had violated the agreement and that the United States would take back the canal.
“China’s running the Panama Canal… it was not given to China… But they violated the agreement and we’re going to take it back or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump had said.
China responds
According to AFP, soon after Hegseth’s claim, the Chinese embassy in Panama issued a statement refuting the defence secretary’s claim that Beijing interferes in the canal’s operations.
“China has never taken part in the management or operation of the Panama Canal, nor has it interfered in issues” concerning the waterway, the statement said, calling on Washington to halt “blackmail” and “plundering” of Panama and other countries of the region.
It also called Hegseth’s comments “not at all responsible or founded” and added that the United States “has orchestrated a sensationalist campaign based on the ‘China threat theory’ so as to undermine cooperation between China and Panama.
“China has always respected Panama’s sovereignty with regard to the canal,” the embassy said.
