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President-elect Trump caught the attention of Panama and the entire international community when he said this week that the United States would demand the return of Panamanian officials control of the Panama Canal to the United States if Panama does not stop the “jerking” of the United States.
Trump claimed the US built it, paid for it and so on President Jimmy Carter “judge gave it away.”
President José Raúl Mulino shot back that the Panama Canal belongs to Panama. Trump noted that “it was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You have to treat us fairly and they haven’t treated us fairly.”
President-elect Trump speaks at AmericaFest on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Make no mistake what Trump is doing is negotiating a new Panama Canal treaty and thus a better deal for the American people. This is very similar to the playbook performed by President Teddy Rooseveltwho maneuvered a complex situation involving the French, the government of Colombia and the Panamanian people to build the Panama Canal.
PANAMA’S PRESIDENT FIGHTS BACK ON TRUMP’S IDEA TO RECOVER KEY CANAL
The Panama Canal is critical to free trade and the national security interests of the United States. About 73% of all ships coming through the Panama Canal are bound for or originating from US ports.
It is also critical to international supply chains and global shipping trade itself. It played a huge role in shipping goods needed by Allied forces during World War II, and thousands of American troops were stationed there to ensure its safety.
Most worrying now is the growing influence of Communist China in Central and South America. In 2017, under the administration of former Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, Panama switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Communist China. The then Trump administration took action and after a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in October 2018, Varela’s government canceled five infrastructure projects with Chinese companies.
“AMERICA FIRST” VS. “AMERICA LAST”: WHAT DOES TRUMP’S RETURN MEAN FOR US FOREIGN POLICY?
Craig Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves, recently pointed out that there are concerns that “China could embed surveillance technology into the canal’s infrastructure, which could be used to monitor US fleet and commercial movements.” He further notes that this potential for espionage increases strategic risks and can provide China with important insights into US logistics and military operations.
This certainly helps explain why the commander of the US Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year that “China is practicing our playbook of being present economically and equipping America’s hemispheric neighbors militarily.” From a timing point of view, the new president of Panama, who took office earlier this year, is seen as more in line with Trump philosophically, and thus much better to negotiate with.
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP’S SYRIA DILEMMA: INTERVENTION OR LET IT TURN INTO A STATE OF TERROR
It is important to understand the history of the Panama Canal. President Carter negotiated to give full control of the canal in 1977 to General Omar Torrijos, Panama’s military leader who seized power in a coup d’état. He was also an ally of Manuel Noriegas.
The giveaway of the Panama Canal was hugely unpopular in the US and was one of the reasons why Ronald Reagan managed to close the gap in his 1976 GOP presidential challenge to President Gerald Ford. As Reagan prepared for his subsequent and successful run for the presidency in 1980, he addressed this issue in a speech at Western Kentucky University.
There, he blasted the Carter administration for going ahead with the transfer of the channel to “a man (Omar Torrijos) who is there, not because he had the most votes, but because he had the most guns.” Reagan went on to say internationally that the world would see the granting of the canal “not as a magnanimous gesture on our part…” but as “once again America backing down and retreating in the face of trouble.”
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One thing that many observers overlook is that many legal scholars agree that a US president has the power to abrogate or terminate a treaty. For example, President George W. Bush unilaterally withdrew the United States from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002.
Likewise, President William McKinley terminated certain articles of a trade agreement with Switzerland, and President Calvin Coolidge withdrew the United States from a convention to prevent smuggling with Mexico.
And during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt unilaterally terminated a number of treaties. Look for Trump to use this threat to negotiate a treaty, or at least extract concessions, from the Panamanian government.
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Trump has inherited the most complex foreign policy landscape any commander-in-chief has ever faced. Regardless of whether it is the growing the threat from Communist Chinathe thought of a nuclear-armed Iran, chaos in the Middle East, or the situation between Russia and Ukraine, Trump faces constant national security challenges on the world stage.
Yes, it’s an international game of chess and so far America’s incoming commander-in-chief is playing it like the late world chess champion Bobby Fischer.
