Panama Says Goodbye to BRI
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (fourth from left) talks to Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales (left) during a tour at the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal in Panama City on Feb. 2.Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images
China slammed what it called U.S. “coercion” in Latin America on Friday after Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Thursday that his country had lodged a formal notice that it would not renew its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deal with Beijing.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the Latin American country of ceding control of the Panama Canal—one of the world’s busiest waterways—to China, pointing to a Hong Kong-based company that operates port facilities at both ends of the waterway as evidence of Beijing’s influence. Both Panama and China have denied Trump’s allegations.
But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s diplomatic trip to Panama last Sunday—during which he threatened retaliatory action against Panama if it did not take immediate steps to reduce Chinese influence over the canal—appears to have effectively cowed Mulino to appease U.S. concerns.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Rubio’s warnings “unjustly accuse China, deliberately sow discord between China and relevant Latin American countries, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s legitimate rights and interests.” Beijing “firmly opposes the United States using pressure and coercion to smear and undermine Belt and Road cooperation,” he added.
Mulino maintains that Washington did not convince Panama to quit the BRI. Panama was the first Latin American country to join China’s infrastructure development project in 2017. Since the BRI’s inception in 2013, more than 150 countries have participated in BRI programs, including more than 20 in Latin America.
At the same time, Panama continues to reject some U.S. ambitions concerning control and use of the Panama Canal. Mulino reiterated last week that he has no intention of giving up Panamanian sovereignty over the canal; the United States signed a treaty in 1977 that gave Panama full authority over the waterway by 2000, but Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in taking ownership.
On Thursday, Mulino also lashed out at a U.S. State Department claim that Panama had agreed to eliminate tolls for U.S. government ships, calling it a “falsehood” and “intolerable.” The department’s suggestion of a policy shift was initially reiterated by Rubio on Thursday, when he said, “I find it absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict.”
Panama has no military, but its public security force works with the U.S. military to defend the canal against potential threats. Rubio has since walked back his statement.