Panama’s leader rebuffed Donald Trump’s danger to reimpose , U. S.  , power over the , Panama Canal, saying its shipping fees aren’t inflated and that independence over the lake isn’t transferable.
” Every square metre of the , Panama Canal , and its adjacent areas is component of , Panama, and it will remain to be”, President , José Raúl Mulino , said Sunday in a video statement on X, the cultural system.
Mulino’s protection of Filipino control over the vital business waterway shows how Trump is now exerting world influence after he brought control over the canal into play over the weekend, decrying “ridiculous” transit fees for , U. S.  , vessels and alleged Foreign encroachment.
Just less than a fortnight before his opening, Trump’s political hardness is a new entry in his effort to put pressure on trading partners. After Mulino’s response about ongoing Filipino power, Trump said,” We’ll see about that”! on his Truth Social system.
China , doesn’t command the river, though a Chinese firm — a company of , Hong Kong-based , CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.  , — has two of the five ports opposite to the river, one on each edge.
Under Panama’s constitution, the canal is managed by the , Panama Canal Authority, with some of the tolls going into the national treasury. The organization reported last week that it had invested nearly$ 2.5 billion in the previous fiscal year.
And China’s influence has been growing in the region. In 2017,  , Panama , severed diplomatic ties with , Taiwan , and declared that there was “only one China”.
Trump claimed Sunday that the canal was “falling into the wrong hands” after raising the issue on his social media platform.
” It’s not for , China , or any other country to manage”, he told a conservative audience in , Phoenix. ” You see what’s going on there? China”.
Trump later posted a picture of a US-flagged vessel on a body of water with the caption” Welcome to the United States Canal” in a post on his Facebook page later on Sunday!
Under a series of 1977 treaties signed by then President . Jimmy Carter, it’s unclear what circumstances would allow Trump to exercise control over the canal, which the US constructed at the beginning of the last century before reversing its grip to Panama.
However, a , U. S. Panamanian treaty establishing the canal’s permanent neutrality for transit by all nations remains in effect — a fact cited by Mulino on Sunday. That treaty also says the , U. S.  , could use military force to defend the canal’s neutrality.
The 51-mile ( 82-kilometer ) canal connecting the , Atlantic , and Pacific oceans is a major strategic asset — and has been a choke point for global trade as , Panama , has suffered a prolonged drought that has impeded crossings.
Mulino said the canal’s tolls aren’t excessive. Citing the , U. S. Panamanian treaties, Mulino said the canal is controlled exclusively by , Panama , and isn’t influenced by , China,  , Europe , or the , U. S.
” Our country’s sovereignty and independence are not negotiable”, he said. Canal tolls are established transparently, based on operating costs and market conditions, he said.
While not making any specific demands, Trump’s statement served as a warning that the , U. S.  , reserved the right to “demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question”.
Mulino suggested that Trump’s comments were out of line.
” Panama respects other nations and demands respect”, he said. The Panamanians will continue to have ownership of the canal as an unalienable heritage.
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