U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming trip to Central America, including a stop in Panama, partly aims to counter China, a State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.
When asked if Rubio would “lay down the law” with Panama over the waterway, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told Fox Business, “It’s not about laying down the law.”
She continued: “I think it’s clear this is an issue about developing a relationship ... Not about bossing other nations around, but making it clear that a partnership with the United States is something that they can trust, something that comes with benefits just like any good relationship does.”
The State Department declined to share details on Rubio’s trip when The Epoch Times reached out for further comment.
The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914 after 10 years of construction by the United States, was returned to Panama under a 1977 deal signed by President Jimmy Carter.
The Panama Canal Authority, a government-owned agency, has had full control over the canal’s operations since Dec. 31, 1999.
“Panama is not going to get away with this!” Trump added in all capital letters.
“We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities. Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense,” Rubio wrote.
“Chinese companies are right now building a bridge across the canal at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade. And Chinese companies control container ports at either end,” he said.
He expressed concern that the “partially completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning, and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action.”
“This situation, I believe, poses an acute risk to the U.S national security,” he added.
Cruz also criticized the fees that U.S. vessels must pay to pass through the waterway.
“The high fees for canal transit disproportionately affect Americans because U.S. cargo accounts for nearly three-quarters of canal transits. U.S. Navy vessels pay additional fees that apply only to warships,” Cruz said.
“Canal profits regularly exceed $3 billion. This money comes from both American taxpayers and consumers in the form of higher costs for goods,” he noted.
“We cannot turn a blind eye if Panama exploits an asset of vital commercial and military importance. And we cannot stay idle while China is on the march in our hemisphere.”
