Trump’s Deal Is Only The First Step At Countering China’s Strategic Moves In Panama

The Federalist ^ | February 06, 2025 | Helen Raleigh

[E. Pluribus Unum]

After meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced that Panama will back out of the China-funded global infrastructure program. This decision is a notable victory for the Trump administration, but more action is needed to address China’s influence over the Panama Canal.

The United States constructed the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, later returning control to Panama through a treaty signed by former President Jimmy Carter in 1977. The Canal remains vital for U.S. economic and strategic interests. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Panama Canal is “a major gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and a provider of lower shipping costs for U.S. and global trade.” Importantly, more than 60 percent of the goods that pass through the Canal either originate in or are destined for U.S. markets, making equal access essential for U.S. national security and economic well-being.

Over the years, China has emerged as the second-largest user of the Panama Canal, regarding it as a key entry point for exerting its economic, diplomatic, and political influence throughout Latin America. The last three decades have seen an increase in China’s economic endeavors in Panama.

Since 1997, when Beijing took control of Hong Kong, Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, has been operating the Balboa and Cristobal ports on the Panama Canal. In 2022, the Panamanian government extended Hutchison’s lease for these ports for an additional 25 years.

During Trump’s first term, China’s economic and political influence in Panama grew significantly. In 2016, Landbridge Group, a prominent Chinese firm, made headlines by acquiring control of Margarita Island, the largest port on the canal’s...

[doc maverick]

Things may be heating up with China.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14369501/military-contracted-plane-crash-philippines-deaths.html
“One US service member and three defense contractors were killed when a surveillance flight crashed in the southern Philippines on Thursday.
The aircraft was conducting a routine mission ‘providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies’ when it crashed in a rice field, the US Indo-Pacific Command said.
On February 6, 2025, an aircraft contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense crashed in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur,’ US Indo-Pacific Command said.”
It exploded before it hit the ground.

[airborne]

President Trump is meeting with the leader of Japan tomorrow. I believe that Japan will have a large role in our AI program, trying to cut into China’s head start.