PANAMA CITY — According to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Panama Canal is under constant threat from China, but the U.S. and Panama will collaborate to ensure its security.
These comments from Hegseth provoked a strong reaction from the Chinese government, which questioned who actually poses a threat to the Canal and suggested others would decide for themselves.
Hegseth, speaking at the opening of a new U.S.-funded dock at the Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Naval Base following a meeting with Panama President José Raúl Mulino, stated that the U.S. would prevent China or any other nation from endangering the canal’s operations.
He added that the U.S. and Panama have significantly enhanced their defense and security cooperation in recent weeks.
Hegseth mentioned the ports at both ends of the canal, which are managed by a Hong Kong consortium currently selling its controlling interest to another consortium that includes BlackRock Inc.
Hegseth stated that China-based companies still control key infrastructure in the canal area, potentially enabling surveillance activities across Panama, making both Panama and the United States less secure, prosperous, and sovereign, a situation President Donald Trump finds unacceptable.
Hegseth met with Mulino for two hours on Tuesday morning before visiting the naval base, formerly the U.S. Rodman Naval Station.
Hegseth shared a photo on X of himself and Mulino, expressing his honor in speaking with Mulino and praising Panama’s hard work, noting that increased security cooperation would benefit both nations.
Mulino and Hegseth released a joint statement late Tuesday.
A vague part of the statement implied discussions about U.S. toll payments for ships crossing the canal, suggesting a mechanism for compensation regarding tolls and charges would be established within the canal’s framework.
Panama’s Foreign Relations Ministry did not immediately offer clarification.
However, there was a significant discrepancy between the Spanish and English versions. The Spanish version stated that “Secretary Hegseth recognized the leadership and inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas,” a sentence absent from the English version.
The visit occurs amidst ongoing tension surrounding Trump’s claims that the U.S. is being overcharged for using the Panama Canal and that China exerts influence over its operations, allegations Panama has refuted.
Shortly after the meeting, the Chinese Embassy in Panama criticized the U.S. government in a statement on X, accusing the U.S. of using “blackmail” to advance its interests and asserting Panama’s sovereign right to conduct business with whomever it chooses, free from U.S. interference.
The embassy accused the U.S. of sensationalizing a “theoretical Chinese threat” to undermine Chinese-Panamanian cooperation for its own geopolitical gain.
Following a phone conversation between Hegseth and Mulino in February, the U.S. State Department claimed an agreement was reached to waive canal passage fees for U.S. warships, a claim Mulino publicly denied.
Trump has even suggested that the U.S. should never have ceded the canal to Panama and should potentially reclaim it.
Concerns about China stemmed from the Hong Kong consortium’s 25-year lease on ports at both ends of the canal. The Panamanian government announced an audit of the lease, concluding on Monday that irregularities existed.
However, the Hong Kong consortium had already announced that CK Hutchison would sell its controlling stake in the ports to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively placing the ports under American control upon completion of the sale.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Mulino during a February visit that Trump believes China’s presence in the canal area might violate the treaty that led to the U.S. transferring the waterway to Panama in 1999. That treaty stipulates the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal.
Mulino has denied China’s influence on the canal’s operations, expressing frustration in February at the persistence of the narrative and stating a focus on issues of mutual interest rather than unfounded realities.
The U.S. constructed the canal in the early 1900s to facilitate the movement of commercial and military ships between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.
“I want to be very clear, China did not build this canal,” Hegseth said Tuesday. “China does not operate this canal and China will not weaponize this canal. Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations through the deterrent power of the strongest, most effective and most lethal fighting force in the world.”
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