Published January 22,2025
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Panama has objected to the UN over US President Donald Trump’s declare that the US can retake the Panama Canal.
In a Tuesday letter to the UN, Panama denied Trump’s declare that it broke a 1999 settlement and had handed management of the canal to China.
Panama’s UN Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba cited a UN Charter rule that nations should “refrain in their international relations from threatening or using force” towards the “sovereignty or territory” of one other state.
Trump, after returning to the US presidency on Monday, reiterated his menace to take again the canal, saying: “We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
Hutchison Whampoa, a Hong Kong agency, operates two ports close to the canal, on each the Atlantic and Pacific sides, however not the canal itself.
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino stated he rejected Trump’s feedback of their “entirety,” stating that “there is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration.”
He added: “The canal is and will continue to be Panama’s.”
The letter was shared with the 15-member UN Security Council, suggesting that Trump’s remarks violated the UN Charter.
The US constructed the canal and managed the encompassing space for many years. In 1977, accords had been signed with Panama to switch full management, which was accomplished in 1999 after joint administration.
The 1999 settlement transferred full management of the canal from the US to Panama, guaranteeing its neutrality and Panamanian sovereignty.
Source: www.anews.com.tr