President Donald Trump is once again looking south to the Panama Canal, vowing Sunday to take it back even if it means using “powerful” US action to accomplish his goals. But why does he want it?
Trump claims that he is looking to regain control of the canal over his concerns of China’s presence around what is arguably the most vital waterway on the planet.
“China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
So what’s the history of the canal? Does Trump have a right as president to reclaim it for the US?
The Panama Canal was constructed from 1903 to 1914 as a means to provide ships a faster and safer route from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans that didn’t require going around South America. Businessmen in the US and Europe had discussed some sort of waterway for years, with the French attempting to build one but failing due to the costs and diseases like Yellow Fever and Malaria.
After the failures of the French, the US stepped in, playing an integral role in constructing the canal, with President Theodore Roosevelt heading up the renewed efforts. To construct the canal, Roosevelt struck a deal with the newly independent country of Panama after dispatching warships to support its independence from Colombia.
What resulted in the show of support was the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which saw Panama give the US a 10-mile wide strip of land for the canal in exchange for a one-time $10 million payment and an annual annuity of $250,000.
The canal was completed by 1914, and the US retained control of it until it was used as a bargaining tool in a treaty in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter. That treaty allows the US to intervene militarily if the waterway’s operations are disrupted by internal conflict or a foreign power.
Flash forward to Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, as he met with Panama President Raúl Mulino and invoked the treaty.
“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,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Mulino seemed to disagree and reportedly told Rubio that Panama’s control over the waterway is not up for debate, but he also discussed the concerns the US has over China’s influence.
Mulino also shared with reporters that Panama was willing to work with the US on new investments and infrastructure projects and that it would not be renewing a 2017 deal it had with Beijing, CNN reported.
“I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible US investments in Panama,” he said.
Mulino also said he does not think there is a real risk that the US would reclaim the canal via military force.