Key Takeaways
- Trump’s comments on Panama push US allies closer to Russia and China.
- US Senator Ben Cardin warns of global implications of Trump’s comments.
- The Panama Canal is critically important for US trade and naval forces deployment.
Washington: Statements by US President-elect Donald Trump that he intends to demand the return of the Panama Canal to the US ownership could push third countries to rapprochement with China and Russia, US Senator Ben Cardin believes.
Trump said on December 22 that he would demand the rapid return of the Panama Canal to American ownership due to high fees for passage through it. The politician emphasised that the Panama Canal was critically important for US trade, as well as for the rapid deployment of US naval forces in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
“I don’t know what the president-elect is saying in regards to how sincere he is, but I can tell you, it does raise questions globally as to whether we’re a reliable partner,” the Democratic senator told ABC News. “And it really feeds into Russia and China appeal to other countries as to whether they need to make alliances with — with Russia and China, whether America will be there for them globally.”
During his last term, Trump threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO, which provoked doubts among partner countries about whether Washington could be relied upon, Cardin noted.
The Panamanian president previously called Trump’s comments a display of gross historical ignorance. He said the Panama Canal was fully owned by the state based on a 1977 treaty, and the country’s sovereignty was not negotiable.
The full transfer of the canal to Panama was completed on December 31, 1999, based on the Torrijos-Carter Treaty of 1977, he recalled. It provided, in particular, for the dissolution of the former Canal Zone, recognition of Panama’s sovereignty and the complete transfer of the canal to it.
