Trump says he might demand Panama hand over canal
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A container ship transiting the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, on Aug 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - US President-elect Donald Trump on Dec 21 accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.
“Our navy and commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.”
Trump also seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, a worrying trend for American interests as US businesses depend on the channel to move goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
He said: “It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else. We would and will never let it fall into the wrong hands!”
He added: “It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.”
The US largely built the canal, completing it by 1914, and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. It was returned to Panama under a 1977 deal signed by then Democratic President Jimmy Carter. The Central American country took full control in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
Trump’s post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has historically not shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.
The authorities in Panama did not immediately react to Trump’s post. The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An estimated 5 per cent of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, which allows ships travelling between Asia and the US East Coast to avoid the long, hazardous route around the southern tip of South America. The main users of the passage are the US, China, Japan and South Korea.
The Panama Canal Authority reported in October that the waterway had earned record revenues of nearly US$5 billion (S$6.78 billion) in the last fiscal year. REUTERS, AFP
