Published January 22,2025
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China Wednesday claimed it has by no means interfered within the Panama Canal amid threats of overtaking the transport channel by the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, state media reported.
Beijing has “not been involved in the management or operation of the Panama Canal,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning informed reporters within the Chinese capital.
However, Mao stated China “acknowledges Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and regards it as a permanently neutral international waterway.”
Trump has threatened US will “retake” the Panama Canal.
Trump final month claimed that “wonderful soldiers of China” have been working the Panama Canal “lovingly but illegally.”
Trump additionally criticized the excessive tariffs for Panama Canal transit and argued that the 1999 switch of management to Panama was meant as a gesture of cooperation, not a concession.
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino in response has firmly acknowledged that the canal’s possession is non-negotiable.
Mulino reiterated that the Panama Canal stays totally beneath Panamanian management and that China performs no operational function.
“There are no Chinese on the canal. As simple as that. Neither the Chinese nor any other power are in the channel,” he stated, including that any Chinese presence within the space would probably be restricted to vacationers or passengers aboard cruise ships.
The Panama Canal, a significant commerce route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is operated solely by Panama.
While a Hong Kong-based agency manages two ports close to the canal’s entrances, Mulino emphasised that it doesn’t equate to Chinese affect over its operations.
“I reiterate, there is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything that has to do with the Panama Canal,” Mulino stated.
Source: www.anews.com.tr