US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the leaders of the Central American country of Panama during a visit on Sunday that President Donald Trump had made a \u2018preliminary determination\u2019 that Chinese influence was violating a treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n
This \u2018determination\u2019 amounts to a threat by Trump to invade the country to protect the critical passageway, which is the right of the US under the long-standing treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Rubio, on his first trip abroad as America’s top diplomat, met face-to-face with Panamanian President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new US government to allow Panama to manage the waterway vital to global trade.<\/p>\n
Mulino told reporters after the meeting that Rubio \u2018made no real threat to take back the canal or use force.\u2019<\/p>\n
The Panama Canal was transferred to Panama in 1999. The agreement that led to this transfer stipulates the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal, but what constitutes neutrality is not clearly defined.<\/p>\n
\u2018Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and, absent immediate changes, will require the US to take measures to protect its rights under the treaty,\u2019 the State Department said in a summary of the meeting.<\/p>\n
While the statement was unusually blunt in diplomatic terms, it is seen as consistent with the tone and style Trump has set in foreign policy.<\/p>\n
Mulino, meanwhile, described his talks with Rubio as \u2018respectful\u2019 and \u2018positive\u2019 and said he \u2018did not feel there was a real threat to the agreement and its validity.\u2019 The Panamanian leader acknowledged that China’s role in the ports at both ends of the canal had caused concern in Washington, but said the consortium controlling those ports was being audited and that the canal authority would provide Rubio with a more detailed explanation.<\/p>\n
Mulino also said that Panama would not renew its agreement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) when it expires. Panama joined the BRI after it renounced diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.<\/p>\n
About 200 people marched in the capital on Sunday carrying Panamanian flags and chanting \u2018Marco Rubio, get out of Panama,\u2019 \u2018Long live national sovereignty,\u2019 and \u2018One territory, one flag.\u2019 Some of the demonstrators burned a banner with pictures of Trump and Rubio after being stopped by riot police near the presidential palace.<\/p>\n
Rubio also said it was important to cooperate with the Panamanian president on \u2018curbing illegal immigration,\u2019 Trump’s top issue, and thanked him for taking back migrants.<\/p>\n
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Rubio argued that mass migration, drugs, and \u2018hostile policies\u2019 pursued by Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have caused damage, and that port facilities at both ends of the canal are operated by a China-based company, making the waterway vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.<\/p>\n
Rubio also said on Thursday, \u2018The president has made it clear that he wants to remanage the canal. Obviously, Panamanians are not big fans of this idea. That message was sent very clearly,\u2019 Rubio said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the leaders of the Central American country of Panama during a visit on Sunday that President Donald Trump had made a \u2018preliminary determination\u2019 that Chinese influence was violating a treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of the Panama Canal. This \u2018determination\u2019 amounts to a threat by Trump to invade the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[1331,529,5895,319,1830,1215,1433,4366,3583,4364,5894,5899,884,5898,528,5897,1644,2240,5893,5896],"class_list":["post-7599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","tag-belt-and-road-initiative","tag-china","tag-chinese-influence","tag-donald-trump","tag-global-trade","tag-immigration","tag-international-relations","tag-jose-raul-mulino","tag-marco-rubio","tag-panama-canal","tag-panama-neutrality","tag-panama-protests","tag-political-tensions","tag-port-facilities","tag-taiwan","tag-treaty-rights","tag-us-foreign-policy","tag-us-state-department","tag-us-panama-relations","tag-wall-street-journal"],"yoast_head":"\n