MEXICO CITY, Dec 23 : The Panama Canal is fully owned by Panama based on a 1977 treaty, and the country’s sovereignty is not subject to discussion, President Jose Raul Mulino said, commenting on statements by US President-elect Donald Trump about his intention to bring back the canal under US ownership due to high rates for passage through it.
Trump said on Sunday that he would demand a quick return of the Panama Canal to American ownership due to high fees for passage through it.
The politician emphasised that the Panama Canal was critically important for US trade, as well as for the rapid deployment of US Navy forces in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He added that the United States was the largest user of the canal, providing over 72% of all passage through it.
“Every square metre of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belog to PANAMA, and will continue to be. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable,” Mulino said in a statement, responding to Trump.
“The Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977 agreed on the dissolution of the former Canal Zone, recognising Panamanian sovereignty and the full transfer of the Canal to Panama, which was completed on December 31, 1999, and we will soon celebrate the 25th anniversary of this transfer,” he said.
Mulino added that rates “are not a whim,” being created publicly and for an open audience, taking into account market conditions, international competition, operating costs, and the maintenance and modernization needs of the interoceanic waterway.
“This is how we achieved the expansion of the Canal in 2016… The canal has no control, direct or indirect, neither from China, nor from the European Community, nor from the United States or any other power,” the Panamanian president said.
According to the president, he seeks to maintain good and respectful relations with the new government of the United States, but when it comes to the canal and the sovereignty of Panama, everyone unites under one flag, the flag of Panama.
The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway in the territory of Panama in Central America, crossing the Isthmus of Panama at its lowest point and connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is one of the most important transport waterways of international importance. (UNI)
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