Donald Trump would have no recourse under international law if he decided to make a play for the passage, and Panama's president has rejected the US president's words, saying no nation 'interferes with our administration'.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to “take back” the Panama Canal in his inauguration speech, alleging the vital trade route is under China’s control.Mr Trump on Monday accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999.Mr Trump has also taken issue with the “exorbitant” rates that the US government, navy and businesses have been charged to use the canal.
Ships sailing between the east and west coasts of the United States, which otherwise would be obliged to round Cape Horn in South America, shorten their voyage by about 15,000km by using the canal.Since 1999, the government of Panama has had full authority and control of the waterway.Over the course of the 20th century, US control of the waterway was a point of contention for Panamanians, who believed that the country should have control of the passage.
The company, part of Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal. US Think Tank, the Atlantic Council, suggests one way the US could regain some control over the canal is through investment. The situation escalated into a stand-off with Panamanian authorities, and eventually, Mr Trump’s name was taken off the hotel at the center of the dispute.Panama has also alerted the United Nations, in a letter seen by Reuters, to Mr Trump's remarks.
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