{"id":1808,"date":"2025-02-03T06:47:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T07:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2025-02-03T09:59:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T09:59:37","slug":"panama-to-scrap-infrastructure-deal-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/panama-to-scrap-infrastructure-deal-with-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama to scrap infrastructure deal with China"},"content":{"rendered":"

The decision comes amid demands from Washington to curb Beijing\u2019s alleged influence over the key waterway controlled by the country<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panama will not renew its participation in China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, President Jose Raul Mulino said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes on the heels of Mulino\u2019s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who demanded \u201cimmediate changes\u201d<\/em> in managing the Panama Canal, a key waterway built by the US in the early 20th century and handed over to Panama in 1999. Washington believes the canal is under too much influence from China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2017 memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative will not be renewed by my government,\u201d<\/em> Mulino told reporters following the talks with Rubio, adding that his government will also study the possibility of terminating the deal earlier, as it is not due for renewal for a couple of years.<\/p>\n

During the talks, Rubio warned Mulino that by allowing China\u2019s involvement in the canal, Panama is violating the 1977 treaty with the US which guarantees the permanent neutrality of the waterway. Rubio said that unless the country reduces Chinese influence, which Washington views as \u201ca threat to the canal,\u201d<\/em> it could face potential US retaliation.<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s warning followed threats made over the past few weeks by US President Donald Trump, who said Washington could retake control of the Panama Canal if China\u2019s presence around the waterway is not reduced and Panama does not lower the \u201cridiculous fees\u201d<\/em> the US has to pay for using it.<\/p>\n

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

\n \"US
Rubio delivers Trump\u2019s ultimatum to Panama<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Trump reiterated his warning earlier on Sunday, telling reporters that \u201cChina is running the Panama Canal,\u201d<\/em> which was \u201cgiven to Panama foolishly,\u201d<\/em> and the US is \u201cgoing to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mulino said he did not perceive an immediate threat of US retaliation after his talks with Rubio, which he described as \u201crespectful\u201d<\/em> and \u201cpositive.\u201d<\/em> He also ruled out negotiations with the US over the canal\u2019s ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that the Canal is operated by our country and will continue to be so… President [Trump] has his opinion on the Chinese presence, which will be clarified in due time by the technical authorities of the canal,\u201d<\/em> Mulino stated.<\/p>\n

Chinese officials have denied having any interest in infringing on Panama\u2019s sovereignty over the canal. In December, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing will always recognize the Panama Canal as a permanently neutral international waterway.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative is a global development program launched by Beijing in 2013 which seeks to connect countries around the world through overland and sea routes, as well as digital and physical infrastructure. Panama was the first Latin American country to sign onto the initiative.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>America could soon become \u2018a bigger country\u2019 \u2013 Trump
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Under the initiative, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings in 2021 won a 25-year contract for control over two ports at the canal\u2019s entrances, and a consortium of Chinese companies has launched the construction of a $1.3 billion bridge over the waterway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The decision comes amid demands from Washington to curb Beijing\u2019s alleged influence over the key waterway controlled by the country Panama will not renew its participation in China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, President Jose Raul Mulino said on Sunday. The announcement comes on the heels of Mulino\u2019s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","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\/1808","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=1808"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1811,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808\/revisions\/1811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/developeternal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}