I find interesting and wanted to share to add to our reading and to help inform…take what you wish, discard what you do not need. I think this is extensive scholarship. Well written, I learnt!
Start here:
‘There has been a great deal of criticism against the recent developments with the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s agreement to sell its Panama Canal ports, Cristobal and Balboa, to BlackRock. A sale that has been loudly backed by the Trump Administration.
There has been especially a great deal of criticism by Trump and his administration over the operation of the Panama Canal claiming China has taken over control of this vital trade chokepoint and is causing the US to pay more than others for the use of the canal. There have even been accusations within the Trump Administration, including by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that they are certain China plans to block America’s use of the Panama Canal completely. The accuracy of these accusations will be reviewed and discussed in detail in this series.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino earlier this year had made a public statement, in response to Trump’s accusations that China was controlling the Panama Canal, and published a strongly worded statement “wholly rejecting” Trump’s words and saying the canal would remain Panamanian.
President Mulino added that no nation was interfering with the canal’s administration and that dialogue was the best way to resolve the issues Trump raised. He also disagreed with Trump’s characterisation of the US returning the canal to Panama.[1]
“The canal wasn’t given by anyone, it was the result of a generational fight that culminated in 1999,” Mulino wrote on X.[2]
However, after Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama after less than one month as US Secretary of State (Panama was first on the list of visits by Rubio, followed by El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic) he proudly stated in his interview with FOX News that Panama was the first country to exit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and that he expects other Latin American countries to follow suit. Trump has repeatedly stated that the US built the Panama Canal and thus has the right to “reclaim it”. These developments and the history of US-Panamanian relations will be discussed in this series.
China has been heavily criticized for the deferral of the BlackRock purchase, who has filed an anti-monopoly investigation launched by China’s State Administration of Market Regulation. This move has ignited accusations that China is overreaching in its legal reach. The accuracy of such accusations will be reviewed in this series.
BlackRock’s role globally as well as domestically will also be reviewed in detail, and especially its direct role in influencing the economy and well-being of Americans. In addition, BlackRock’s role along with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) will be reviewed in what they are in fact proposing as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, along with an overview of BRI’s activities thus far.
Does China ‘operate’ the Panama Canal as Trump says?
As Trump has recently stated “China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back.”
Trump, in his first speech of his second term, denounced the so-called “deal” the US made decades ago to turn over the Panama Canal to Panamanians. “We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should never have been made,” Trump said during his inaugural speech. “And Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.”
In the weeks ahead of his inauguration, he threatened to have US reassert control of the Panama Canal, including possible military action the day after Christmas on his Truth Social platform.
As has already been briefly mentioned, the President of Panama Jose Mulino disagreed with this statement by Trump that the Panama Canal was “given” to the Panamanians by the Americans but that this was the culmination of a long fight – a long fight for Panama’s sovereignty that is.
Trump went on to state “Our Navy and Commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous.” Trump also stated that “It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!”[3]
Mulino dismissed these criticisms as well as Trump’s threats to retake the Panama Canal, stating “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama,” he said on a video posted on X.
Mulino also stated “The canal has no direct or indirect control from China, nor the European Union, nor the United States or any other power,” Mulino continued “As a Panamanian, I reject any manifestation that misrepresents this reality.”[4]
It should be noted here that President Mulino is a right leaning conservative and had very good relations with the US up until these recent accusations.
Let us go over whether there is any validity to Trump’s statements and accusations.
In a recent speech Trump claimed that the Panama Canal had left 38,000 Americans dead. He stated “The United States, I mean think of this, spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.”
This is not remotely true. Rather, it is estimated that 25,000 people died that were French and Jamaican, during the first construction period, that were mostly from mosquito-borne viruses. Virtually none of those deaths were American.[5] Author Matthew Parker who wrote the book “Hell’s Gorge: The Battle to Build the Panama Canal” said that during the US period of construction from about 1904 to 1914 about 6,000 died, mostly all who were Bajans, i.e. from Barbados, with about 300 Americans who died in the effort.[6]
These figures are largely in line with other estimates of the death toll in the efforts to build the canal, which was completed in 1914. That during the 1880s more than 22,000 workers from France died (many from malaria and yellow fever). Thus, it appears it is the French who have by a large margin the highest death toll in the construction of the Panama Canal.
It should be noted that the Panama Canal was engineered by the same French engineer as the Suez Canal, it was not engineered by an American. Thus, the Panama Canal was engineered and largely built by the French, though it was the Americans who had colonised the territory (more on this history later in this series).
It is curious as to where Trump got the number 38,000 and how he came to the conclusion that these were American deaths.
Trump has also recently stated that “China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
Panama has been controlling the Panama Canal since 1999 after a treaty transfer. It is controlled through the Panama Canal Authority, an 11-member board that oversees the waterway’s maintenance and security.
CK Hutchison won a bid in 1997 (thus before Panama even took control over the Panama Canal from the United States!) that allowed Chinese companies to operate in ports at the ends of the canal. But China is not the only one, the United States and Taiwan also have companies who are operating ports along the canal which is open to commerce from all countries. Only two out of the total five ports adjacent to the Panama Canal are owned by the Hong Kong company CK Hutchison.
President Mulino has stated that the passage rates are determined by market conditions. There has been no evidence of unfair treatment in China’s favor as the BBC and Financial Times also acknowledge. It is also acknowledged by the BBC and Financial Times that there is no evidence that Chinese soldiers are positioned at these ports as Trump has claimed.
For those who may still think there is credit to what Trump has been accusing China of concerning the Panama Canal. I suggest the reading the following excerpt from this article “The Chinese Interests in the Panama Canal Including Updates“ published by the Newsroom Panama, here is an excerpt to which I would like to particularly highlight from their article:
‘The truth, nothing but the truth. Our family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances rely on our words and that is why we have to be as accurate as possible. To help in this effort of citizen diplomacy, here are the truths we must understand in order to share them with the world.
False statement: “The United States gave the canal to Panama for one dollar ”
Answer: In 1903, Panama authorized the United States to build a canal and gave permission to use land and water. Panama was severely limited in its own development, at a high human and economic cost. The canal was not free; we Panamanians had paid for it in advance and in full.
False statement: “The Panama Canal charges excessively and represents a high cost to the United States economy. ”
Answer: The Panama Canal toll represents 5% of the value of freight between Asia and the United States. 2.7% of world trade passes through the Canal ($33 trillion in 2024), but the Canal only generated revenues of about $6 billion. So it is not a cause of inflation but rather a huge subsidy to the economy of one of the most developed countries in the world.
False statement: “38,000 U.S. citizens died during the construction of the Canal.”
During the construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914) 350 American citizens died, according to data contained in the Roberto F. Chiari Library of the Panama Canal.
False claim: “The US Navy pays too much to cross the canal and is discriminated against by Panama.”
The US Navy has free [i.e unrestricted access] passage through the Panama Canal, so there are no lines or reservations required. [In other words, they have priority use of the Panama Canal over cargo ships.]
Between 2015 and 2024, the US Navy only paid approximately $17 million in tolls to cross the Panama Canal. That’s less than $2 million a year.
False claim: “The Chinese government controls the Panama Canal.”
Answer: Panama controls, manages, supervises, regulates, cares for and maintains the Panama Canal. There are no Chinese military personnel stationed in Panama, instead, the Panama Canal Advisory Board is chaired by retired Admiral William J. Flanagan, who was head of the U.S. Southern Command.
False claim: “The Chinese company that operates two ports at the entrances to the Panama Canal can close them whenever the Chinese government orders it.”
Answer: The ports of Balboa and Cristobal are owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson. This company has 53 ports in 24 countries, including the United States, and by 2023 it had handled more than 81 million containers or the equivalent. This company is not included on any United States government list of restricted companies, as are other Chinese companies. It is important to understand that all ships entering and leaving the Panama Canal are captained by Panamanian Canal pilots, including ships going to the ports of Balboa and Cristobal. So at all times those ships are commanded by a Panamanian Panama Canal collaborator. Go ahead, take what is said here, put it into your own words and share it with the whole world. Only the truth and national unity will lead us to a safe harbor.’
Thus, the US does not appear to be receiving unfair treatment afterall. Rather the US pays more than any other country for the use of the Panama Canal because it accounts for 75% of the canal traffic in the fiscal year 2024, with China coming in at second with 21%. In other words, the passage rate is determined by the number of ship/cargo that is going through, thus, the US pays more since they have more ships/cargo going through. To claim that this is unfair treatment is a dishonest statement.
As with Trump’s tariff war – threatening international companies to set up their factories in the US or face sky-high tariffs, in order to artificially boost the US economy without creating American jobs and manufacturing – it appears Trump is also upset with the Panama Canal simply because the United States is expected to pay for the use of a canal “they built” (no mention of the French ever…).
There is no unfair treatment. There is no evidence of Chinese manipulation to restrict US access. The US simply does not want to pay, period. And they are using China as an excuse for why they feel justified in reclaiming an imperialistic agenda towards Panama.
Think about it for a moment. The United States is doing the very thing that they have been trying to scapegoat China’s BRI on, that because the US “built” the Panama Canal when Panama was a colony of theirs, that means it is theirs forever and they get to do with it as they wish despite Panama being a sovereign country now?!?
Isn’t that exactly what they were accusing China would eventually do, but actually hasn’t?
Is the US going so far as to justify that it needs to become an imperialistic empire in order to defend the world from China’s business? Sounds awfully similar to Churchill’s NSC-75 when the United States was dragged into defending Britian’s colonial interests worldwide in order to so-called save the world from Soviet communism.
Yes, subject countries were told they had to continue being British colonies in order to fight communism….
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