Rubio Calls Chinese Presence At Panama Canal ‘Unacceptable’

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(Bloomberg)-Foreign Minister Marco Rubio told Panicon leaders that the United States will protect its rights under the Panama Channel Treaty if the Central America does not move to the Chinese connected companies near the critical waterway.

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“The current position of influencing and controlling the Chinese Communist Party on the Panama channel is a threat to the channel and represents a violation of the treaty related to permanent neutrality and the operation of the Panama Canal,” Rubio’s meeting with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and Secretary of State Javier Martinez Akha.

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The statement said that Rubio has resonated the complaints submitted by President Donald Trump since December, “he made it clear that this current situation is unacceptable and that in the absence of immediate changes, the United States will require necessary measures to protect its rights under the treaty.”

Mulino, speaking with the correspondents after the meeting, described the meeting as “respectful and a cycle” and appears to be independent.

He said in the Spanish language: “I do not feel any real threat against the treaty or its validity, and much less than the use of military force to take over the channel.” “I don’t feel it.”

Mulino said that Panamanian officials suggested that a “technical team” could “can remove everything that needs to be cleared” about the channel.

China’s influence was growing in the region. In 2017, the Benjami government has been cut off by diplomatic relations with Taiwan and announced that there is “only one China” – a step that has occurred in many Latin American countries in recent years.

Mulino Rubio told his country that Panama’s participation in the Belt and Roads Initiative in China.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will always respect Panama’s sovereignty over the channel, and recognize it as permanently neutral waterway.

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Chinese company-a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. It is based in Hong Kong-has two of the five outlets adjacent to it, one on each side. According to the Panama Constitution, the channel is managed by the Panama Channel Authority, where some fees entered the national treasury.

Panama has been under increased scrutiny since December, when Trump has complained that she was receiving exorbitant prices for American ships. He demanded to reduce the fees either, or to return Panama the channel to the United States.

Mulino said in the past that his country would not give up control of the channel.

In a social publication of the truth, Trump described the drawings as “ridiculous” and the current “full rupture”.

The United States built the channel at the beginning of the twentieth century and waived it to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 – a step that Trump called a fool.

One of the main strategic origins. It was also a stifling point for global trade, as Panama suffered from the lengthy drought that hindered the crossings.

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Rubio, the son of the Cuban immigrants, arrived in Panama on Saturday to start a six -day trip that will also take him to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Rubio’s visit to the channel – his first foreign trip as the best American diplomat – came a day after Trump announced 25 % of the tariff for Mexico and Canada, which will enter into force on Tuesday, in addition to a 10 % tariff in China.

It also comes amid a batch from Trump to Latin American countries to receive a deportation from the United States, and many Central America. Last week, a dispute with Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened definitions of one of the most powerful US allies.

“The trip is designed to build partnerships with countries in the region to reduce mass migration, put the land to deport and stop drug trafficking,” Rubio said in an article in the Wall Street Journal last week. The journey, and a greater interest in the states that are geographically closer to the United States, is within the promise of Trump to “put America first”.

Rubio and Molino also discussed immigration through Daryn GAP, a forest area between Colombia and Panama, which he says has seen a 94 % decrease in illegal crossings. Mulino Air Capture Display near the area to re -replace.

This is the first time that the region has been chosen for the US High diplomatic envoy in the United States for more than a century. Country usually visited allies such as Japan or Germany, while Rubio, Anthony Blaken, spent several trips during the past year, focused on wars in Europe and the Middle East.

– With the help of Michael McDonald and Nicole Yabur.

(Updates with Mulino and transferred starting in the fourth paragraph.)

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