The United States has a treaty obligation to protect the Panama Canal, if it comes under the attack, US State Secretary Marco Rubio said on Thursday, what has Panama done as “lies”. , Whether the US Navy ships can cross the Panama Canal for free. ,
“I feel absurd that we have to pay fees to cross an area which we are mandatory to save in the time of struggle. They are expected. The Panamanian President Jose Rau talks with Mulino.
Rubio was referring to A treaty Signed by the US and Panama in 1977.
Top American diplomat told reporters that when he respects the democratically elected government of Panama and admits that it has “a process of laws and procedures that need to follow,” Rathi Retan “armed for the wild To be implemented by the United States by forces, especially the US Navy.
The US has intended to pursue a cordial resolution, said Rubio.
Mulino posted on X that he planned to talk with US President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said through a social media post on X, that the US government ships can now cross the Panama Canal without fees, which gives the US government an annual dollars annually.
But the Panama Canal Authority disputed the US claim to the autonomous agency seen by the Panamian government, saying that it has not made any adjustment to the thesis fees. So it expressed his desire to engage in dialogue with the relevant American office.
During his weekly press conference on Thursday, Panaman’s President refused that his country reached a deal allowing the American warships to cross the Panama Canal for free, saying that he completed the state department’s statement Dismissed in different ways.
Belt and road initiative
Megile, Mulino, told reporters that the Panmanian Embassy in Beijing had provided China with a required 90 -day notice of its decision to get out of the belt and road initiative, known as BRI.
Hey, this decision was made at Washington’s request, saying that he was taking time to assess Panama’s relations with China and deciding what would be the service of his country’s interests.
“I don’t know what was the encouragement for the person signing the agreement with China,” Mulino said in Spanish, he said he did not think that BRI had brought great benefits in his country.
Panama joined the BRI of China under former President Juan Carlos Varela. The agreement was signed in 2018, after the Panama’s decision in 2017 to establish its diplomatic relations with China and to establish serious relations with Taiwan.
Rubio has welcomed the Panama’s decision not to be specially renewed in BRI, China.
China described BRI, which was a huge infrastructure initiative in 2013, designed to connect several continuity through land and sea routes as a huge infrastructure initiative.
The United States has warned that the project is motivated by China’s mission to manipulate and weaken the global rule-based trading system for its own benefit.
In Beijing, the Chinese officials rejected that they called the US’s “irresponsible commentary on the issue of Panama Canal” and accused Washington of relevant cooperation, attacks, and presenting relevant cooperation incorrectly.
Lyn Gian, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said, “China opposed it and created a strict impact from the US.”
While living in Santo Domingo, Rubio met Dominican President Louis Abinadar and External Affairs Minister Roberto Alvarez.
The Dominican Republic is focused on Rubio’s five-nation tour in Central America and Caribbean, which is focused on curbing illegal immigration, combating drug trafficking and focusing China’s increasing influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Some information for this report came from Associated Press, Egnes France Press and Reuters.