Panama Canal will be removed from Chinese ‘influence,’ Pentagon chief says
Global News
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panama's forces and said China would not be allowed to "weaponize" the canal.
The United States will take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to the Central American nation.
Hegseth, following talks with Panama’s government, vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panama’s forces and said China would not be allowed to “weaponize” the canal by using Chinese firms’ commercial relationships for espionage.
“Together, we will take back the Panama Canal from China’s influence,” Hegseth said, speaking at a pier renovated with U.S. assistance in Panama City.
“China did not build this canal. 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.”
More than 40% of U.S. container traffic, valued at roughly US$270 billion a year, goes through the Panama Canal, accounting for more than two-thirds of vessels passing each day through the world’s second-busiest interoceanic waterway.
Hegseth is expected to get a close-up look at the Panama Canal later on Tuesday, the first full day of a rare visit to a nation still unsettled by Trump’s threats to take back the canal.
While Hegseth spoke about removing Chinese influence, Trump has spoken in broader terms and not ruled out using military force, if necessary.
Hegseth is the first U.S. defense secretary to visit in decades, and his trip follows reports that the Trump administration has requested options from the U.S. military to ensure access to the canal, which the United States built more than a century ago and handed over to Panama in 1999.
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