Earlier, Pete HegeSth spoke about the same topic. A visit to Panama, the Secretary of Defense of the United States, drew attention to the growing presence of China in the Western hemisphere. He described this as a potential threat to the Panama Canal.
Speaking during the Regional Safety Conference, HegeSeth emphasized that Chinese companies are taking control of strategic areas and key infrastructure in important sectors of the economy.
– The Chinese army has too much activity in the Western hemisphere. (…) Beijing invests and operates in this region, striving to gain a military advantage and dishonest economic benefits – argued the head of the Pentagon. He announced the conclusion of an agreement with Panama regarding the safety and operation of the Panama Canal, which will enable American war ships “priority of flow and free sailing”.
HegeSeth appealed to the rule of the region's countries for cooperation in order to scare away China and counteract threats from transnational drug cartels and uncontrolled immigration.
Trump dissatisfied with fees for American ships
As the AP agency reminds, the administration of Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the US, despite the treaty commitment to protect the channel, had to pay fees for the movement of their war ships between the Atlantic and peaceful ocean. Both countries finally agreed to strengthen the coordination in the field of security and will work on the mechanism of returning fees paid by American war ships for swimming through the channel.
Earlier, Panama denied reports of the alleged influence of China on the functioning of this waterway.
The Chinese Embassy in Panama was critical of the US Federal Government on the Social Platform X. stated that Washington applies “blackmail” to pursue its own interests, and Panama's decisions regarding trade partners are its “sovereign law (…) and something that the US has no right to interfere in.”
