House China Committee Raises Alarm over PRC Influence on the Panama Canal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this week, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on China sent a letter to the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority, Luis Roquebert, celebrating his work to reject malicious PRC activity and continuing to raise the alarm over malign influence on the Panama Canal.
"I am writing to applaud the work you, your Ministry, and your country have undertaken to reject undue influence from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). President Mulino has demonstrated his commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Panama relationship and has taken concrete steps to reverse efforts by the PRC to expand malign influence in Panama," begins the letter.
However, the letter also expresses alarm that CCP-directed entities could be included as part of a transaction involving port concessions managed by CK Hutchison (CKH), a Hong-Kong based conglomerate—posing a direct threat to the national security of both Panama and the United States.
The letter notes that the China COSCO Shipping Corporation, or COSCO, is of particular concern.
"The inclusion of COSCO—or any other Chinese company—in port operations or control along the canal would represent an unacceptable risk to the national security of both our nations," writes Chairman Moolenaar in the letter.
"A Panama Canal free of malign CCP influence would benefit the security of Panama, the United States, and Latin America as a whole," the letter concludes.
Chairman Moolenaar makes it clear: protecting the Panama Canal means protecting the United States.
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