Rubio Tells Panama That Canal Situation Must Change
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian officials Feb. 2 that President Donald Trump has made a preliminary determination that China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal area threatens the waterway and violates the 1977 agreement that transferred U.S. control of the canal to Panama, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
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“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” formally known as the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, Bruce said.
Rubio conveyed his message to Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha during a meeting in Panama City.
During the meeting, Mulino insisted the canal is an autonomous entity that operates independently from the Hong Kong-based company that manages ports at both ends of the canal, according to a translation of a Panamanian government statement. The Panamanian government said it has agreed to have a Panama Canal Authority technical team meet with U.S. officials to “clarify all doubts about the operations of the waterway.”
Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Feb. 2 that China is “running” the canal in violation of the treaty. “We're going to take [the canal] back or something very powerful is going to happen,” he said.
At the White House, later that day, he said: "We either want it back, or we're going to get something very strong, or we're going to take it back." He said he'd be talking to the Panamanian president on Feb. 7. "They've offered certain things, but I'm not happy with it."