MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rubio tells Mulino US to take necessary measures to end China's control over Panama Canal

Rubio - the first Latino US Secretary of State is on a tour that will also include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Sunday with Panamian President José Raúl Mulino, whom he told about the increasingly worrying control “control by the Chinese Communist Party” of the waterway linking the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. This situation is a threat to US interests, Rubio argued.

Hence, Washington will take the necessary measures if Panama does not immediately take steps to end what US President Donald Trump sees as China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal, Rubio insisted.

Mulino pledged further cooperation with the US on migration and other issues but reiterated that his country’s sovereignty over the world’s second busiest waterway was not up for discussion.

Rubio delivered a message from Trump that China’s presence – “Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. “Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal.”

Trump's administration contends that China exerts its control over the Panama Canal through a Hong Kong-based company operating two ports near the canal’s entrances, which would violate the US-Panama treaty regarding the waterway. In Trump's view, China's influence on the Panama Canal is “a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” US authorities also mentioned.

It was his first trip abroad since taking office for Rubio, the first Latino to hold such a key position. “Secretary Rubio also emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to end the hemisphere's illegal migration crisis and thanked President Mulino for his support of a joint repatriation program, which has reduced illegal migration through the Darien Gap,” Bruce also pointed out.

The US led the construction of the canal serving around 40% of the world's cargo ship traffic but handed over its handling to Panama in 1999.

After Trump's executive order imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China in addition to focusing on deporting illegal migrants, Rubio is on a tour of Latin American countries which will also include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. “Secretary Rubio’s engagements with senior officials and business leaders will promote regional cooperation on our core, shared interests: Stopping illegal and large-scale migration, fighting the scourge of transnational criminal organizations and drug traffickers, countering China, and deepening economic partnerships to enhance prosperity in our hemisphere,” Bruce also said in a separate communiqué.

Rubio's presence in Panama has been described as “an interference” in local issues consistent with Washington's postures disqualifying the management of the Panama Canal by Panamanians.

Mulino -who intends to have his country join the Southern Common Market (Mercosur)- has repeatedly insisted there would be no negotiation over ownership of the canal.

Some 200 people marched in Panama City unwelcoming Rubio and chanting “Long live national sovereignty” and “One territory, one flag” while burning images of Trump and Rubio. They were prevented from reaching the presidential palace by riot police.