President Donald Trump has reiterated his threats to retake control of the Panama Canal, citing alleged national security concerns. However, military experts and Panamanian officials have dismissed his claims as exaggerated and uninformed.
In his inaugural address, Trump asserted, “China is operating the Panama Canal,” and called it a violation of the 1977 treaty that handed control of the canal to Panama. However, Panamanian officials and experts told The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s claims lack factual basis.
“No one who knows anything about military technology or tactics would view container ports around the world as a national-security threat,” said Joe Reeder, a former U.S. Army undersecretary and member of the Panama Canal’s international advisory board.
Reeder explained that the Chinese-owned Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa’s container port terminal near the canal is not designed for military use, and China’s infrastructure developments in the region do not violate the canal’s neutrality.
Retired U.S. Army General and former NATO commander Wesley Clark acknowledged China’s growing economic influence but downplayed any military threat. “Nothing that China does is ever purely commercial,” Clark said. “But Panama is close, and we know it well. If China were to seek military advantage there, we could take rapid and decisive action.”
Clark and Panamanian officials suggested the Trump administration would be better served by encouraging American companies to invest in Panama to counterbalance China’s economic presence. In 1996, Hutchison Whampoa outbid U.S. and Japanese companies to manage the ports, a decision that has since drawn scrutiny.
“China will, as always, respect Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and recognize the canal as a permanently neutral international waterway,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez also dismissed Trump’s assertions, emphasizing the canal’s neutrality. “China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations,” Vásquez said. “We cannot discriminate against the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else.”
Retired General Barry McCaffrey, who once led the U.S. Southern Command, warned against any plans for a military takeover of the canal, calling them illegal and impractical. “We would sound like it was the 1850s,” McCaffrey said. “If you’re a foreign illegal power, how would we operate the canal without Panamanians?”
Experts and officials agree that Trump’s rhetoric overstates the security risks, urging for diplomatic and economic strategies rather than military threats in addressing China’s influence in Panama.