US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to “take back” the Panama Canal on Sunday night, February 2, warning of “powerful” US action amid an escalating diplomatic dispute with Panama over China’s growing presence around the vital waterway.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, it was given to Panama foolishly. They violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
The diplomatic tension over Trump’s repeated calls for the US to regain control of the canal eased hours later, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on his first overseas trip as top US diplomat, met with Panama’s President Raúl Mulino.
Although Mulino asserted that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal was not up for debate, he addressed Washington’s concerns about China’s influence in the region. Mulino revealed that Panama would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative and suggested that the agreement with Beijing could end early.
Mulino added that Panama plans to seek new investments from the US, including in infrastructure projects. “I think this visit opens the door to build new relations… and try to increase US investments in Panama,” he said.
During the meeting, Rubio indicated that concerns over China’s “control” of the canal might prompt the US to “take measures necessary to protect its rights” under a longstanding treaty that ensures the neutrality and operation of the canal. The canal was handed back to Panama under a 1977 treaty, which still allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or foreign powers.
Mulino, however, downplayed the possibility of military intervention. He emphasized that Panamanian authorities discussed expanding a migrant repatriation program with Rubio, under which the US would bear the full costs of repatriating foreign nationals without legal status in Panama. “Yes, exactly… We can do that, without a problem, under the total cost of the US. Panama won’t invest a single dollar in it,” Mulino said.
