Trump has refused to back down on threats to seize the vital waterway and it remains unclear what Rubio can achieve diplomatically that would please him, with Panama firmly rejecting any claims against its sovereignty.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File Image/ AFP
In a stern warning to Panama, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States will take “measures” unless there are “immediate changes” on the Panama Canal, alleging it had violated the handover treaty. Rubio said that Chinese influence around the Panama Canal is ‘unacceptable’.
Meeting President Jose Raul Mulino, 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,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
However, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said he did not see a serious threat of US military force to seize the Panama Canal despite forceful comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a meeting.
“I don’t feel that there is any real threat at this time against the treaty, its validity, or much less of the use of military force to seize the canal,” Mulino told reporters, referring to the treaty that handed over the canal at the end of 1999.
A day after Trump announced he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico, prompting retaliation from those countries, Rubio was set for perhaps a less confrontational and more diplomatic approach. After talks with President José Raúl Mulino, Rubio planned to tour an energy facility and then the canal, the object of Trump’s intense interest.
Mulino has said there will be no negotiation with the U.S. over ownership of the canal, and some Panamanians have staged protests over Trump’s plans. Mulino said he hoped Rubio’s visit would focus on shared interests such as migration and combating drug trafficking.
Following Trump’s threat’s to take back the canal, Panama launched an audit of publicly listed Hong Kong company CK Hutchison Holdings, which operates two ports at the canal’s Atlantic and Pacific entrances.
Rubio, a longtime China hawk during his Senate career, said last week that China could use the ports to shut down the canal, a vital route for U.S. shipping, in the event of a conflict between Beijing and Washington.
Rubio also plans to discuss migration issues in Panama, which cooperates with the United States on preventing migration across the Darien gap, the route across Panama’s rugged southern border with Colombia used by human traffickers and dru