In the dispute over control of the Panama Canal, the US State Department has unilaterally announced that it will no longer have to pay passage fees in the future. The authority in Panama responsible for the collection of the levies rejected this: it “did not make any adjustments to the fees,” said a message on the platform X.
The US State Department had announced on the X platform that US government ships would no longer have to pay for the passage of the important waterway. The Panama government made this promise. This would save the United States millions of dollars. The authority responsible for the Panama Canal denied this. However, the authority was ready to take up talks with the USA about the passage of US military ships.
Panama is under high pressure
US President Donald Trump had repeatedly said that the USA was not treated fairly in the Panama Canal. Trump also claims that China runs the important waterway in Central America. Both Panama and China rejected the allegations. However, Panama is under considerable pressure to make concessions. The Republican did not rule out a military mission on the Panama Canal. The waterway was built by the United States in the early 20th century.
At the weekend, US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio had traveled to Panama to underline Trump’s entitlement to control over the Panama Canal. He had also described China’s influence on the global waterway as unacceptable.
US defense minister calls Panama Canal top priority
US defense minister Pete Hegseth on the phone on Wednesday (local time) with Panama’s security minister Frank Ábrego. Hegseth emphasized that the preservation of the US national security interests had “top priority”, it said in a message from his ministry. This includes securing the unhindered access to the Panama Canal and keeping it free from foreign interference.
Ábrego wrote on X that Hegseth will visit Panama in April, but only mentioned the common interests of the two countries in security and migration issues as the topic of the telephone call.
The Hong Kong company Hutchison Ports PPC has been running large container terminals on both sides of the channel since 1997. The company belongs to a rich Hong Kong family. However, there are fears that the government in Beijing could also expand its influence on ports and shipping routes through private Chinese companies.
