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The president of Panama said he would not renew a development deal with China after a visit with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where the top US diplomat expressed concern that the nation had given too much control over its canal to Beijing. Rubio explained President Trump’s position that Chinese influence over the canal is not only a threat to the waterway but is also “a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal,” the State Department said. Absent changes, the U.S. would “take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,” the statement added. While President José Raúl Mulino emphasized Panama's sovereignty over the canal, he said the nation would withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative. “One important thing, which is a decision I made and communicated to him, is that the 2017 memorandum of understanding on the Silk Road, part of the Belt and Road Initiative, will not be renewed by my government,” Mulino said. “That is a fact.” “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be ended earlier or not,” he continued. “I think it is up for renewal in one or two years, because it’s every three. So that initiative which was signed will not be renewed by my government." Trending on Townhall Videos |
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