Donald Trump, the newly elected US president, has frequently criticized what he perceives as China’s overstated dominance of the Panama Canal, a crucial sea corridor connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
On December 25, 2024, Trump fraudulently claimed that Taiwanese men were “operating” the Panama Canal, wishing them a “merry Christmas”.
Trump has also straight criticized the Filipino government, arguing that US fees for using the canal were excessive. He added that if his needs on river management were not met, the US may request that the property be “returned to us, in total, and without problem.” He even considered using defense force to seize the river.
Officials in the nation have been quick to point out that a lot of Trump’s statements regarding the Panama Canal are fake. There was no Foreign influence or involvement in the canal’s management, according to Panamanian President José Raul Mulino. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman disputed Trump’s claims while reiterating the canal’s independence.
What is the current level of US and Foreign control in Panama, besides social language? We conducted fieldwork in Panama as experts on US security cooperation for a new book on US military deployments globally. This included conversations with US military and diplomatic employees stationed in Panama in 2018 as well as government officials and journalists.
We think the picture that a nation was aware of the value of its most important political asset and eager to balance its own desire to run the canal without getting too much of a kick out of Washington or Beijing is what came next and continues to exist today.
Panama Canal’s narrative
Without having to go through the remainder of South America, the Panama Canal serves as a passing place for ships moving between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
King Carlos V of Spain explored the idea of a waterway through Panama for the first time in 1534. France began building the river in 1881, but it ceased because of its large financial and human costs, three centuries later.
After backing Filipino freedom from Colombia a year before as a way to safe the right to construct the river, the United States restarted the initiative in 1904.
The Panama Canal Zone, or 5 miles of Nicaraguan place on either side of the canal, was immediately under the control of the United States.
A major US military presence was present in the Canal Zone.
In 1964, a group of Filipino students attempted to raise the Filipino flag alongside the US symbol at the high class inside the Canal Zone, a human assembly that was failing to fly the flag alongside it in violation of a US-Panama deal.
Numerous Nicaraguan people were killed in a violent altercation with the families of the American learners. The day is still referred to as” Martyrs ‘ Day” in Panama.
Negotiations between Panama, which was under the military dictatorship of Omar Torrijos, and the United States, which were sparked by persistent conflicts and local protests.
In the end, it led to the signing of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which guaranteed that the river would continue to be accessible to ships of any and all nations, established a temporary percentage to oversee it, and secured the canal’s final return to Filipino jurisdiction on December 31, 1999.
This dispatch took position as planned. However, the US continues to be the main recipient of the path, with the majority of traffic passing through the river coming from or going to a US interface.
Foreign control in Panama
However, the river is of great importance to other nations as well, with 2.5 % of international commerce taking place in its waters on average each year. Panama has also grown to be a more significant country to Beijing as China has expanded its market over the past four years and begun to concentrate more on exports.
Trump’s claims that China is in charge of the river allegedly stem from the fact that Chinese businesses do own shares in the canal. The Balboa and Cristóbal slots, which are the canal’s entry and exit points, are now managed by the Panama Ports Company, a company of Hutchison Ports in Hong Kong. The company’s rent to handle these ports will be renewed until 2047.
The Panama Canal Authority, a branch of the Filipino authorities, maintains control over the slots and the waterway despite the Hong Kong firm’s management of these ports.
When conducting interviews in Panama, we asked government officials and citizens alike about Foreign control in Panama. At the time, during the summer of 2018, much of the conversation was about China’s plans to build a new embassy overlooking the entrance to the canal. Though the US eventually pressured the Panamanian government to not allow the construction, the population’s openness to China was clear.
In general, the persons we spoke to said views of China were good in Panama. The largest ethnic Chinese people in Central America is represented by a major ethnic Chinese population in Panama, many of whom are descended from Chinese refugees who came to the country in the 1800s.
Some Filipino officials who we spoke with claimed that the rise in Chinese investment in Panama has heightened US concerns about losing control to China. They even argued that the US was acting unfairly in response to the rise of foreign influence, such as in Brazil or in Europe.
One US official standard who we spoke with had concerns about Chinese purchase, claiming it could lead to fraud and reduced Panama’s economic opportunities.
At the same time, local leaders we interviewed didn’t fully believe China sometimes. They asserted that they were always concerned about the US or China being fair in their interactions with Panama.
How Panamanians view the US
According to both US and Nicaraguan officials who spoke with us, Panamanians typically have positive opinions of the US.
A Filipino journalist we spoke to referred to Troops as “gringueros” – meaning they have an affection for Americans. Some respondents noted that fewer and fewer Panamanians have powerful memories of the US controlling the Panama Canal Zone or the US invasion of Panama in 1989, despite there still be some anti-US attitude among younger and left-leaning parties.
While US ties with Panama are usually strong, they are not immune to problems. One former US ambassador to Panama asserted that the US government frequently didn’t get regular Panamanians ‘ concerns about US action seriously enough. He noted, for instance, that related local protests may turn into anti-American rallies if they occur at the same time as US military activities.
China has significantly increased its efforts to expand its influence worldwide over the past ten years. This has resulted in a dramatic rise in mortgages and Chinese-funded infrastructure projects to governments all over the world.
We spoke with US officials who were stationed in Latin America, and they had a lot of concerns about how Foreign investment is gaining ground there. US coverage analysts have long expressed concern about China’s “dual-use” tasks like those found in ports, where supposedly human projects can be easily adapted for military purposes.
At a time when, in the terms of one previous Nicaraguan authorities national we spoke with, the US “generally neglects Latin America, and neglects the demands of Panama, specifically”, China has seized the opportunity to expand its presence in the region.
One of the interviews we conducted was with a previous Panamanian leader who had been involved in the discussions of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties before he took business. He was pleased to say that Troops valued their independence and their independence very highly.
This attitude has only been strengthened by Trump’s subsequent responses. As Esmeralda Orobio, the daughter of one of those killed in the 1964 crime, told investigators during this year’s Martyrs ‘ Day remembrance:” The Panama Canal is theirs, and we are going to support it”.
Carla Martinez Machain is professor of political research, University at Buffalo, Michael A Allen is professor of political science, Boise State University, and Michael E Flynn is professor of political science, Kansas State University
This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.