Cnn
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The president of Panama reiterated on Sunday that Panama’s sovereignty on the Panama Canal was not to be discussed, saying that during the talks with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had responded to the United States concerns about The presence of China around the vital navigable track.
President Raúl Mulino, however, added that Panama will not renew a 2017 understanding of understanding to join the Development Initiative Abroad of China, known as belt and road, and suggested that the Agreement with China could end early.
Panama will seek to work with the United States on new investments, including infrastructure projects, he said. “I think this visit opens the door to establish new relationships … and try to increase American investments as much as possible in Panama,” Mulino told journalists on Sunday after the first trip abroad of Rubio in As long as the first diplomat of the United States.
Mulino’s comments were followed by reading the meeting of the US State Department, which said that Rubio told the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Javier Martínez-Acha his rights “according to a long treaty Date on neutrality and functioning of the canal.
Under the 1977 treaty, the United States returned the channel to the control of Panama, understanding that the navigable path remains neutral. According to the agreement, the United States could intervene militarily if the channel operations were disrupted by internal conflicts or a foreign power. Today, more freight than ever crosses the canal than during the years of American control.
The rehearsal desire and publicly stated by the American president Donald Trump for the United States to regain control of the keywater has already caused diplomatic agitation, Mulino declaring on several occasions that the sovereignty of Panama on the canal should not not debate.
Mulino said on Sunday that there did not think there was a real risk that the United States would use the military force to take over the channel.
Mulino also said that the Panamanian authorities were carrying out an audit on a company linked to China which operates two terminals around the canal.
“We must wait until this audit ends before we can draw our legal conclusions and act accordingly,” said Mulino.
The company in question is Panama Ports, which is part of a subsidiary of the conglomerate based in Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings. Hutchinson Ports is one of the largest port operators in the world, supervising 53 ports in 24 countries, including other American allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
As CNN previously reported, Hutchison does not control access to the Panama Canal. The workers of their two ports only load and unload containers on ships and provide them with fuel. Three other ports near the canal are operated by competing companies providing similar services.
Mulino also said that the Panamanian authorities had spoken with Rubio the possibility of extending a migrant repatriation flight program to eliminate foreign nationals who do not have the legal basis to be in Panama, insisting that states -Unis should bear costs.
Invited to clarify if migrants would come to Panama and would then be transferred to their respective countries, Mulio said: “Yes. Exactly … we can do it, without problem, under the total cost of the United States. Panama will not invest a single dollar. »»
The program, signed in July, aims to reduce irregular migration through the Darien Gap, a region of the mountainous tropical forest connecting South America and Central America. The 66-mile (106 kilometers) hike through the Darien brings Migrants from Colombia to Panama and is a crucial passage for those who hope to reach the United States and Canada.
Mulino said on Sunday that these returnees could include migrants from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and other countries.