The main reason Donald Trump is concerned about the Panama Canal goes well beyond the outrageous fees they charge American military and companies. The US built the canal at great cost and at a great loss of American lives. The Canal is critical to national security. China, our most dangerous enemy, indirectly controls the canal.
Donald Trump wants to take it back from China, not Panama. Allegedly, China doesn’t control the canal, but a Hong Kong company does. However, China controls every company in Hong Kong.
China is buying all the land around the channel. Once the operation is complete, China, not Panama authorities, will control the channel. That is unacceptable.
Compared to other Central American countries Panama has a substantial population of Chinese origin numbering some 150,000, making it the largest Chinese community in the region.
The US lease ran out. However, some reports say that the treaty turning the canal over to Panama contains a clause that says the United States can take the canal back if the United States decides it isn’t being operated properly. That is being rebutted, but it is true that it isn’t being run properly.
Sky News reports the US has no legal means to reclaim the canal. The only way it could get the waterway back is to invade Panama. A treaty was signed in 1977 to hand over the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, after which the treaty expired, and Panama owned the waterway, which the Panama Canal Authority runs.
Per Grok
– Hutchison Ports PPC, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, has a 25-year concession over two strategically important ports near the Panama Canal, which could influence global trade dynamics.
– The control of these ports by a Chinese company raises…— paula wilson (@pwilsondtf) December 23, 2024
Then-President Jimmy Carter gave the Canal away to Panama and since then, it has been extremely poorly managed. It needs expansion.It’s barely functioning.
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