Trump Threatens To Take Back Panamanian Canal Control, President Mulino Denies China And Determined To Maintain

JAKARTA - Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino dismissed news about China and stressed his country would continue to control the Panama Canal, as US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to take over control of the vital canal.

Trump on Sunday threatened to take control of the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging too much to use the Central American route.

Speaking to his crowd of supporters in Arizona, Trump also said he would not allow the canal to fall into "misleading hands," warning of a potential Chinese influence on the route.

After the event, he posted a picture on Truth Social about the American flag flying over narrow waters, with a comment: "Welcome to the United States Canal!", quoted from Reuter December 23.

"Has anyone heard of the Panama Canal?" Trump said at AmericaFest, the annual event hosted by Turning Point.

"Because we were tricked in the Panama Canal like we were tricked elsewhere," he continued.

Trump's comments are a very rare example of a US leader who said he could push sovereign countries to give up his territory. They also underscore the expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has historically been unsurprised of threatening allies and using war-like rhetoric when dealing with his partners.

"It was given to Panama and the Panamanian people, but there are provisions," Trump said of the canal, which was once owned by the United States but handed over to Panama decades ago.

"If the principles, both moral and legal, of this generous attitude are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, fast and without questions," he said.

Separately, in a recording message released Sunday Afternoon President Mulino said Panama's independence was non-negotiable and China had no influence on the canal administration.

He also defended Panama's rates, saying the rates were not set "based on his own wishes".

China does not control or manage the canal, but Hong Kong-based subsidiary CK Hutchison Holdings, has long managed two ports located at the Caribbean and Pacific entrances to the canal.

It is known, the United States has mostly built the canal and managed the area around the route for decades.

In 1977, the United States and Panama signed a pair of agreements that paved the way for returning the canal to full control of Panama. The United States handed over control of the route in 1999 after a joint administrative period.

"Each square meter of the Panama Canal and its surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to (Panama)," President Mulino wrote in a statement, released on X.

Trump then responded to Mulino: "We'll see!"

The waterways, which are crossed by up to 14,000 ships each year, account for 2.5 percent of global marine trade and are critical to US car and commercial goods imports through container ships from Asia, as well as for US commodity exports, including liquefied natural gas.

It's unclear how Trump will try to regain control of the canal, and he will have no way out under international law if he decides to take the risk of the line.

This isn't the first time Trump has publicly considered expanding territory.

In recent weeks, he has repeatedly reflected on turning Canada into a US state, although it is unclear how serious he is about the matter.

During his first term in 2017-2021, Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland, Denmark's autonomous region. He was publicly rejected by Danish authorities before any conversations could be held.

Trump repeated the idea on Sunday, in a statement announcing his choice for the Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery.

"For the sake of National Security and Freedom goals around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control over Greenland is an absolute necessity," he wrote on Truth Social.