WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused China on Thursday of “threatening” to detain or detain dozens of Panamanian-flagged vessels — albeit briefly — after the Central American country seized control of two key ports on the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong subsidiary earlier this year.
China has denied the allegations. After US President Donald Trump accused Beijing of running the Panama Canal last year, Panama has become embroiled in a wide-ranging rivalry between the US and China. The Trump administration views the vital maritime trade route as strategically important, both commercially and militarily, and Trump has talked about reclaiming the Panama Canal since his campaign.
“China’s decision to engage or otherwise block Panamanian-flagged vessels from engaging in legal trade destabilizes supply chains, increases costs and undermines confidence in the global trading system,” Rubio said on social media. “The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty and will always support our partners in confronting threats.”
Of the 124 ships detained in Chinese ports for inspection in March, 92 — or nearly 75% — were Panama-flagged, according to public data from the Tokyo MoU, a regional port state control organization comprising 22 member authorities from the Asia-Pacific region. Panama-flagged ships were usually detained for a few days – as long as a day or 10 days – before being released.
That’s a sharp increase from the previous two months, when 19 of the 45 vessels held in February — or more than 40% — were Panama-flagged, and 23 of 71 — or more than 30% — were Panamanian-flagged in January.
The US’s “repeated false accusations only reveal an attempt to seize control of the canal,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington. In a statement, he did not address the increase in the number of Panama-flagged ships in Chinese ports.
This comes against the backdrop of Panama’s Supreme Court ruling in January that concessions taken by a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings on the Balboa and Cristobal terminals were unconstitutional.
The US has pressed Panama and other Latin American countries to curb China’s influence in the Western Hemisphere, where Trump has said he will increasingly focus. The Trump administration has become more aggressively involved in Latin American affairs than any US government has been in decades, most dramatically with the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a military coup in January.
The Federal Maritime Commission in Washington is tracking Panama-flagged vessels that have been detained in Chinese ports.
“Secretary Rubio’s statement highlights the disruptive effects of the Chinese government’s actions against Panamanian-flagged vessels,” said Commission Chairwoman Laura DiBella. She said the commission “is not aware of any other country in recent history that has conducted ship security inspections and punitive detention.”
Panama’s government said APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish conglomerate AP Moller-Maersk, would temporarily take over administration of the terminals while a new contract was signed. DiBella said the Chinese Ministry of Transport had invited Maersk to Beijing for high-level discussions.
Panama’s government has sought to defuse widespread geopolitical tensions surrounding the ship. Officials did not respond to a request for comment about Rubio’s comments, but denied that the detention was already tied to a dispute between China and Panama over the canal.
In March, Panama’s foreign minister, Javier Martinez, acknowledged the increase in detentions but said they were “part of regular maritime industry practices, as detentions also occur in other ports and in other flags.”
“We want to maintain a respectful relationship with China,” he added.
Following the Panamanian Supreme Court’s ruling in January, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China would “take all necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate and legal rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
José DiGeronimo, former president of the Panama Maritime Chamber, said the action with the ships could have a “huge impact” on Panama, which is the world leader in ship registrations. Registries generate about $100 million in revenue for the government each year.
DiGeronimo compared such registries to shipowners choosing passports, with owners registering their boats in the places that “allow you to travel to the largest number of countries without restrictions.” Harassment by Chinese officials could threaten that, he said.
“If the world’s leading exporter starts banning the use of the Panamanian flag, the last thing you want is a Panamanian flag,” DiGeronimo said.
___
Solis reported from Panama City. Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky and Alexis Tribolard in Mexico City contributed to this report.
