Panama Caught In The Middle Of US And China Rivalry
Last week, Panama President José Raúl Mulino issued a statement which accused the US of spreading lies and falsehoods, as the country is seemingly caught in the middle of President Trump’s rivalry with China
Following on from Trump’s claim that he may take back the Panama Canal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first visit to the Central American country last week.
Upon his return, he advised that Panama would not be renewing their membership of China’s international Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while posting through an official state social media account that US warships would no longer be charged for transiting the Panama Canal.
President Mulino vehemently denies that any agreement was reached over canal fees, saying that he rejects “this method of managing bilateral relations on the basis of lies and falsehoods” and calling it “simply and plainly intolerable.”
According to records, the US has paid around $25 million in fees for the passage of around one thousand government ships since 1998, and according to the Panama Canal Authority no new adjustments to fees have been made.
The issue of exiting the BRI seems to have got Panama in hot water with China, who have since summoned Panama’s Ambassador to China to lodge ‘solemn representations’ over their apparent decision to leave. Panama was the first Latin American country to join the initiative and will seemingly be the first to leave.
Turning their sights on the US, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China “firmly opposes the United States using pressure and coercion to smear and undermine Belt and Road cooperation,” adding “The US side’s attacks once again expose its hegemonic nature”.
