Reuters reveals US options to counter China's influence in Panama
Photo: Panama Canal (Stan Shebs / wikipedia.org)
The United States has various options to reduce Chinese influence in Panama and to counteract the growing presence of Chinese companies in this Central American country. The head of the Federal Maritime Commission will present them to the US Senate committee, according to Reuters.
Western media have noted that US President Donald Trump has promised that the country will regain control of the Panama Canal. At the same time, the head of state did not provide details on how and when he intends to implement this.
Meanwhile, Reuters has reviewed the written testimony of Louis Sola, chairman of the US Federal Maritime Commission, which will be presented on Tuesday at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Panama Canal.
“We need to increase support for American companies seeking to do business in Panama and throughout the Americas. Chinese companies must not be the sole bidders on contracts,” he said in a statement.
Sola also added that "Chinese companies have been able to pursue billions of dollars in development contracts in Panama, many of which were physical infrastructure projects, some on or adjacent to the Panama Canal".
As Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz said before the hearing: "The United States paid for and built the Panama Canal, but Panama is treating America unfairly and ceding control of key infrastructure to China."
Sola also notes that "the United States is not without options in addressing the growing presence of China and Chinese companies in Panama and throughout the Americas.”
"Nor are we without options as they relate to the continued viability of the Canal,” he said.
The chairman of the US Federal Maritime Commission also said that it is extremely important to protect the independence of the Panama Canal Authority.
According to Reuters, in August last year, Sola and then-Chairman of the US Federal Maritime Commission Dan Maffei visited Panama and met with the country's President Jose Raul Mulino. This was after drought conditions severely affected the canal's operations.
In written testimony to be presented to a Senate committee on Tuesday, Maffei will state that last year's rainy season in Panama, fortunately, mitigated acute water supply problems “for the time-being and restored normal transit volumes.”
Trump's statements on Panama Canal
Earlier, Donald Trump made several statements about his intention to regain US control over the Panama Canal. He also refused, in particular, to rule out the possible use of military force to do so.
The Panama Canal accounts for more than 40% of US container traffic, estimated at approximately $270 billion a year.
Trump's remarks about the Panama Canal have drawn criticism from Latin American states in America and some other countries.
Last week, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said that the country operates a canal responsible for global trade, including with the United States. Mulino emphasized that the canal is and will remain Panama's.
On January 23, it became known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to visit Panama amid Trump's statements about the return of the canal.
For reference: The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s to help commercial and military ships travel between their coasts.
In 1999, the United States relinquished ownership of the waterway, more than 20 years after then-US President Jimmy Carter signed an agreement with Panama.
