WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would be “taking back” the Panama Canal, but he gave no further details in his inaugural address after being sworn in as 47th president.
Trump issued the threat, without explaining details, after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.
“The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated,” Trump said.
“Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said.
Panama denies that China has any role in running the canal, and has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over the waterway since Trump first threatened to take it over after he was elected in November.
At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been “treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made.”
“The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.
“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.
Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labour and opened in 1914.

US President Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.
Trump’s claim about Panama Canal
Trump pledged to take back the Panama Canal, while repeating several inaccurate claims, including that 38,000 Americans died during its construction and that China controls the canal.
The administrator of the Panama Canal has refuted Trump’s assertion about Chinese control, explaining that Chinese companies operating in the canal’s ports are part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997.
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In an interview with a news agency, Ricaurte Vasquez denied Trump’s claims that China was controlling the canal’s operations, and said making exceptions to current rules concerning its operation would lead to “chaos.”
He said Chinese companies operating in the ports on either end of the canal were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997. He added that US and Taiwanese companies are operating other ports along the canal as well.
The actual death toll from the American construction effort stands at about 5,600 people, with many of the workers being from Caribbean islands such as Antigua, Barbados, and Jamaica. The figure might be higher, but it does not come close to Trump’s claim of 38,000 deaths.