PANAMA CITY, Jan 30. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out discussing control over the Panama Canal in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country in his first official trip abroad this weekend.
Mulino’s comments during a weekly press conference come after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take control of the canal, claiming it is being operated by China
. The Panamanian government strongly denies the accusation.
“I cannot negotiate and much less open a process of negotiation on the canal,” Mulino said. “That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.”
The canal, an 82-km (51-mile) artificial waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and is key to global trade flows, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority – an autonomous agency overseen by the Panamanian government.
The United States built the canal in the early 20th century and handed control to Panama in 1999, two decades after signing a set of treaties guaranteeing its permanent neutrality.
But Trump has said that this treaty is being violated, claiming China controls the canal and has soldiers there, without offering evidence. He also argues that the United States is being overcharged for transit through the canal.
“I have received absolutely no information from the U.S. embassy in Panama … nor from the secretary of state, with whom we work together on migration issues, about the alleged military presence of another country in the canal,” Mulino added.
“The Panama Canal is controlled by Panama and its administration has always been in Panamanian hands,” he said.
Panama had many other issues to discuss with Rubio, Mulino said, such as migration and drug trafficking.
While the canal is operated by Panama, two ports at its Atlantic and Pacific entrances are operated by publicly listed Hong Kong company CK Hutchinson (0001.HK), opens new tab, while other ports nearby are operated by private firms from the United States, Singapore and Taiwan.
Asked whether Panama could remove concessions from companies linked to China, Mulino said this was not on the table, and said the government was awaiting the results of an audit into CK Hutchinson’s payments to the state, an audit that was announced shortly after Trump’s accusations.
“This is not a country that takes away and breaks laws. If I do that because they are Chinese companies or take away a concession just like that because someone asked me to, that is not the climate we want to project as a country to foreign investors,” he said. “Panama respects the rule of law.”
Reuters