'Compromises, concessions only embolden bullying': China pushes back against US defense chief’s remarks on Panama Canal
Both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Panama pushed back against recent remarks by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the Panama Canal, urging the US to stop spreading disinformation, stirring up trouble, and falsely linking China to the canal as a pretext for advancing its own ambitions to control it.
During a visit to the Central American nation, Hegseth said on Tuesday that "the US will take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence," Reuters reported.
China-based companies continue to control critical infrastructure in the canal area, Hegseth said. "That gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama. This makes Panama and the US less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign."
Hegseth, following talks with Panama's government, vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panama's forces and said China would not be allowed to "weaponize" the canal by using Chinese firms' commercial relationships for espionage, according to Reuters.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian firmly rejected those remarks on Wednesday, stating that the US senior official maliciously attacked China, and vilified and sabotaged China-Panama cooperation, which once again lays bare America's bullying and hegemonic nature.
Lin stressed that it is so clear for all to see who wants to control the Panama Canal. The US should take a hard look in the mirror to find out who is threatening other countries' sovereignty, security and development.
The spokesperson also urged the US to stop spreading rumors and making trouble, and stop linking China to the Panama Canal issue with ill intention to find an excuse for America's attempt to control the canal. "Meanwhile, let me stress that compromise and concession does not protect sovereignty or win respect, but will only embolden the bully," Lin added.
In his inaugural speech in January, US President Donald Trump claimed without providing evidence that China controlled the 50-mile canal and vowed that the US will take back the waterway, which he said was "vital" to national security, NBC News reported on Wednesday.
The Chinese Embassy in Panama also made a solemn statement on Wednesday in response to the latest remarks made by Hegseth over the Panama Canal, urging the US to seriously reflect on its history of bullying and exploitation toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including Panama, and to stop distorting and smearing China.
China has never participated in the management or operation of the Panama Canal, nor has it ever interfered in canal-related affairs, said the statement.
China has always respected Panama's sovereignty over the canal and acknowledges that the canal is a permanently neutral international waterway. This position is clearly stated in official documents exchanged during the mutual visits of the two countries' heads of state, the embassy said.
While the US repeatedly accuses China of interfering with the canal, history tells a different story: The only time the canal was ever interrupted was due to a US invasion, the Chinese Embassy said.
It is clear who is truly upholding the canal's neutrality and prosperity, and who has been clamoring to "take back" the canal - justice lies in the hearts of the people, the embassy noted.
In November 2017, China and Panama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road cooperation. Thanks to this agreement, the two countries have enjoyed stronger policy support, increased investment, and broader public support, accelerating cooperation in trade and investment, infrastructure, finance and development aid. These efforts have yielded tangible benefits for Panama and its people, the embassy said.
The US has ignored facts and hyped up the so-called China threat, attempting to undermine China-Panama cooperation purely for its own geopolitical purposes - an act that fully exposes its hegemonic mindset. The world can clearly see who is engaging in coercion and exploitation, according to the embassy.
The embassy pointed out that the US-Panama relations should not be exclusive. Panama's decision to develop relations with China is a sovereign choice, and one that reflects the will of the Panamanian people. The US has no right to interfere, it said.
"We urge the US to seriously reflect on its history of bullying and exploitation toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including Panama, and to stop distorting and smearing China. Instead of spreading falsehoods and sowing discord, it would be better for the US to focus on how to truly contribute to the well-being of the region," the embassy said.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino has denied that China has any influence in the operations of the canal, the AP said on Wednesday.
Mulino was also quoted as saying in the Reuters' report that the canal has been handled responsibly for world trade, including that of the US, and that "it is, and will continue to be, Panamanian."
Hegseth's remarks make it clear that the US does not regard Panama as a sovereign country worthy of respect, but rather as a pawn in its geopolitical game, and its policy toward Panama reflects a blatant disregard for Panama's sovereignty and a brazen interference in its internal affairs, with the aim of drawing Panama into Washington's pre-set strategy of strategic competition with China, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"By attempting to drag Panama, and potentially other countries, into a great-power rivalry, the US risks creating further instability in the international order and deepening frictions and divisions between itself and other nations," Li said, noting that this tactic of coercion and manipulation, using its own choices and strength to impose its will on others, is bound to backfire.