U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he has "no doubt" that China has a plan of action to close the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the United States, and that Washington intends to address what it considers a threat to national security, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
A few days before visiting Central America on his first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomat, Rubio echoed some of President Donald Trump's concerns about Chinese influence on the strategic waterway in an interview with The Megyn Kelly Show on Sirius XM.
Trump, in his inaugural speech on January 20, again accused Panama of breaking its promises to finally hand over the canal in 1999 and of handing over its operation to China, a claim that the Panamanian government strongly denies.
He vowed then that the United States would regain the canal, but did not say when or how.
Rubio, a longtime hawk on China during his Senate career, pointed to the Hong Kong-based company that runs the two ports at the entrances to the canal on the Atlantic and Pacific sides as a risk to the United States because "they have to do whatever the (Chinese) government tells them to do.
"And if the Chinese government in conflict tells them to close the Panama Canal, they will have to do it," Rubio said. - "And in fact, I have no doubt in my mind that they have a contingency plan. It's a direct threat.
The Panamanian government categorically denies the transfer of control of the canal to China and insists that it operates the canal fairly for all types of shipping.
Earlier on Thursday, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino ruled out discussing control of the channel with Rubio during his visit to the country. "The channel belongs to Panama," he told reporters.
While the canal itself is managed by Panama, the two ports on either side are operated by the publicly traded Hong Kong company CK Hutchinson, while other ports nearby are operated by private companies from the United States, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Rubio did not repeat Trump's promise to return the channel, but insisted that the US intends to address the issues raised by the president, saying that the current situation "simply cannot continue.
"I would say that the canal is already in the hands of the Chinese," he said, expressing hope that the problem could be resolved soon.
Addendum
"Critics have accused Trump of modern imperialism in his threats against the canal as well as Greenland, Denmark's semi-autonomous territory, suggesting that such rhetoric could embolden Russia in its war in Ukraine and provide justification for China if it decides to invade Taiwan," Reuters notes.
Some analysts question whether Trump is serious about what critics say would be a land grab, suggesting that he may be taking an extreme position in the negotiations in order to win concessions later.