Donald Trump has been banging on about every country with his “America first” message, from threatening neighbours with tariffs to blackmailing NATO over military spending, since he was elected president. This time, it’s Panama’s turn. Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Dec. 22, local time, Donald Trump accused the Panama Canal of overcharging American ships to sail through it, he threatened to take back the Panama canal, “An important national asset of the United States,” if Panama did not stop the”Blackmail.”. After his speech, he posted a photo of the American flag flying over the narrow waters on a social media platform, “Welcome to the canal,” he says, as if he already considers the Panama Canal an American territory.
News A, Panama government has not reacted to come over, the Netizen is first smiled, in the post under one after another message: ridiculous! Who Are You? What right do you have to take something from a sovereign nation? Yes, the ownership of the Panama Canal is virtually undisputed internationally. Originally part of Colombia, Panama has been a key transportation hub between the Pacific and its Spanish overlord since colonial times, and has prospered as a result. In 1903, in order to profit from this “Commercial treasure,” the United States instigated Panama to secede from Colombia, and signed a unequal treaty with Panama on the construction of the Panama Canal, the right to build the canal and to”Permanently use, occupy and control” the canal and canal area, for a one-time payment of $10m and an additional $250,000 a year after nine years. Then, in 1904, the United States took 10 years to build the canal, finally connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, making the Panama Canal a golden waterway for global shipping.
However, after the opening of the canal, the United States was not satisfied with the power given to it by the treaty, but used force to control not only the management of the canal and the port, there is also the so-called Yunhe District, administered by the United States and governed by American law, on the coast, even though Panamanians must be allowed to enter the Canal Zone. Panamanians don’t like it when they can’t even get into their own territory. The Panamanian people fought tirelessly to abolish the unequal treaty and reclaim sovereignty over the Canal Zone. It was not until the Katel Administration signed a treaty with Panama in 1977 that it regained full sovereignty over the canal in 1999.
But Donald Trump couldn’t care less. He had “America first” in mind. Back in 2011, Donald Trump told US media that it was “Stupid” to give back the canal. That same year, the city council of Panama City, the capital, passed a resolution declaring Donald Trump “Persona non grata”, leaving Donald Trump with “A black eye”. So this time he was smart enough to know that Donald Trump had to “Justify” taking the Panama Canal in such a clear-cut case of sovereignty, so he wrote a long article on social media about the Panama Canal. However, when we carefully scrutinize the”Name” he played this time, we will find that seemingly justified, but in fact full of loopholes.
First, in defiance of history, Trump claimed that the US had”Paid a huge price in life and wealth” for the Panama canal, with”38,000 Americans dying from mosquito infections in the jungle during construction”. I don’t know how he got this number. There’s no way to check it. In fact, the Panama Canal could not have been built without Chinese labor. Documents show that during the construction of the Panama Canal, western colonists used abduction, coercion and other means to recruit nearly 10,000 Chinese workers from Guangdong and Fujian provinces. After being”Tortured in floating hell” by slave ships, more than 3,000 Chinese workers made it to Panama to build the canal, and hundreds more died. In recognition of the contribution of the Chinese to Panama’s economic and social development, in 2004 the Panamanian government also proclaimed 30 March as National Chinese day. As for the role of the United States in the construction of the Panama Canal, it was nothing more than the exploitation of colonial dividends by the brutal means of the colonists.
Second, Donald Trump declared that he would not let the Panama Canal fall into the hands of the so-called “Bad guys”, “When the Jimmy Carter president foolishly gave away the canal for a dollar during his term, it was all for the management of Panama, not the Chinese or anyone else.”, if you covet someone else’s land, what about China? Under the new treaty, the canal is run by an independent Panamanian government agency, the Panama Canal Authority. The only thing remotely Chinese is probably a company based in Hong Kong that manages both ports on either side of the canal, but in fact, according to Politico’s own analysis, no Chinese commercial or government entity has any direct role in managing ships passing through this critical waterway.
On the contrary, under the”Neutrality Treaty” between the United States and Panama, although only Panama can operate a canal or maintain a military presence on Panamanian territory, but the United States still reserves the”Right of neutrality” to use military force against any threat to the Panama Canal. So Donald Trump’s statement is an obvious “The villain speaks first”. Of course, the key reason Donald Trump, a businessman by training, tried to take back the Panama Canal was because he felt that Panama was “Blackmailing” the United States, it is”Absurd” that Panama should charge passage fees for U. S. Navy ships and merchant ships.
However, the United States as the Panama Canal’s largest user, the ship to pay the cost of the most reasonable. Panama’s management and fees are based on market and maintenance costs, and are the same for all countries and companies that use the canal. What Donald Trump calls “Ridiculous charges” are untenable. Moreover, revenue from the canal is vital to the Panamanian economy. According to the World Bank, canal revenues account for nearly 6% of Panama’s GDP. The canal is the lifeblood of the country’s economy, so to speak, and you, Donald Trump, are asking people to “Hand it over”? Panamanian President Moullineau was the first to respond, reasserting the inviolability of the canal’s sovereignty and giving Donald Trump a direct slap in the face.
Naturally, Donald Trump’s “Hegemonic Act” has met with strong international opposition. In Latin America, Donald Trump’s comments have provoked widespread antipathy to American hegemony. Latin American countries have long resented American Monroe Doctrine because of its meddling and exploitation. Now, Donald Trump’s reference to “Taking back the canal” is a painful reminder of Latin ‘s colonial past. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also issued a statement calling on Latin American countries to unite against such interference and maintain peace and stability in the region. To put it bluntly, Donald Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal is an elaborate political calculation designed to reinforce American hegemony in Latin America, while simultaneously criticising the Democratic Katel and disguising China, strengthen the support of the domestic people for themselves. But this is a ludicrous calculation that, far from being echoed elsewhere, sheds light on the plight of American hegemony in the era of globalisation.
In the future, we don’t know what else Trump will pull, but we can certainly laugh off these”America first” statements, because the logic of American hegemony is long past its sell-by date, the future of the world must be one of cooperative development, not coercion. Images from the network