{"id":1788,"date":"2025-02-03T03:13:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T04:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/?p=1788"},"modified":"2025-02-03T05:02:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T05:02:03","slug":"rubio-delivers-trumps-ultimatum-to-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/rubio-delivers-trumps-ultimatum-to-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio delivers Trump\u2019s ultimatum to Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US president has warned \u201csomething very powerful\u201d will happen unless Panama curbs Chinese influence over the canal<\/strong><\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Panama to reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal or face potential US retaliation. He made the remarks in Panama City on Sunday during his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat.<\/p>\n

During his meeting with Panamanian President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Mart\u00ednez-Acha, Rubio conveyed President Trump\u2019s concerns that Panama is violating the 1977 treaty<\/a> with the US, which guarantees the permanent neutrality of the critical waterway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis status quo is unacceptable, and absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,\u201d<\/em> Rubio told Mulino, according to a summary<\/a> of the meeting released by the US State Department.<\/p>\n

Mulino described the talks as \u201crespectful\u201d<\/em> and \u201cpositive,\u201d<\/em> noting that while he acknowledged Washington\u2019s concerns, he did not perceive an immediate threat of US retaliation.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Panama alerts UN over Trump\u2019s threat to seize canal<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel that there is any real threat at this time against the treaty, its validity, or, much less, the use of military force to seize the canal,\u201d<\/em> Mulino told reporters after the meeting. \u201cThe technical team can discuss the matter with the United States and clarify any doubts they may have,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he added, ruling out negotiations with the US over the canal\u2019s ownership.<\/p>\n

As a concession to the US, Mulino announced that his government would not seek to renew its 2017 agreements with China under Beijing\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative and would even consider ending the deal early.<\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly threatened to take back control of the Panama Canal, citing \u201cridiculous fees\u201d<\/em> and concerns over China\u2019s growing influence around the waterway, which was built by the US in the early 20th century and handed over to Panama in 1999.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"US
America could soon become \u2018a bigger country\u2019 \u2013 Trump<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On Sunday, Trump doubled down on his stance, warning that \u201csomething very powerful is going to happen\u201d<\/em> if Panama does not comply with US demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think troops will be necessary in Panama,\u201d<\/em> he insisted, reiterating that what \u201cPanama has done is terrible for national security in this part of the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

US officials have previously raised concerns that China\u2019s activities in Panama may violate the 1977 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty, which grants the US the right to defend the canal if its operation is threatened. Some US lawmakers argue that China\u2019s economic presence \u2013\u00a0including infrastructure projects and port operations\u00a0\u2013\u00a0could undermine the canal\u2019s neutrality and compromise its security.<\/p>\n

A key point of contention is the operation of ports at both entrances of the canal by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, a company US officials perceive as being influenced by the Chinese government. The $1.3 billion bridge, currently under construction by a consortium between China Communications Construction Company and China Harbour Engineering Company, is also viewed by some as a significant security risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US president has warned \u201csomething very powerful\u201d will happen unless Panama curbs Chinese influence over the canal US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Panama to reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal or face potential US retaliation. He made the remarks in Panama City on Sunday during his first overseas trip as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1792,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788\/revisions\/1792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}