Rubio warns of China’s potential to block Panama Canal in conflict

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is acceptable to embark connected his archetypal authoritative travel arsenic the nation’s apical diplomat connected Saturday, with planned visits to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic from Saturday to Thursday.

Officials and experts accidental the sojourn is partially aimed astatine countering China’s increasing power successful the region. The travel comes arsenic President Donald Trump pushes to regain power of the Panama Canal, and arsenic Washington intensifies efforts to curb amerciable migration.

“Secretary Rubio’s engagements with elder officials and concern leaders volition beforehand determination practice connected our core, shared interests: Stopping amerciable and large-scale migration, warring the scourge of transnational transgression organizations and cause traffickers, countering China, and deepening economical partnerships to heighten prosperity successful our hemisphere,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said successful a connection connected Friday.

Trump has asserted that China controls the Panama Canal, a important commercialized way linking the Atlantic and Pacific. But Panama has denied the claim, insisting that it manages the canal impartially for each maritime traffic.

On Thursday, Rubio warned that China could perchance artifact entree to the canal successful the lawsuit of a conflict.

“If the authorities successful China successful a struggle tells them to unopen down the Panama Canal, they volition person to. And successful fact, I person zero uncertainty that they person contingency readying to bash so. That is simply a nonstop threat,” Rubio said during an interrogation with SiriusXM Radio.

In Panama City, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino ruled retired immoderate treatment of power implicit the canal with Rubio.

"I cannot negociate and overmuch little unfastened a process of dialog connected the canal," helium told reporters connected Thursday. "That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.”

Some analysts caution that China has been employing economical and noneconomic tactics crossed the Western Hemisphere to grow its influence, prompting nationalist information concerns.

"You mightiness deliberation that you are conscionable getting much Chinese concern successful your country, but beauteous soon you are benignant of being coerced oregon coaxed into signing astatine the Belt and Road Initiative, oregon you're being coaxed into signing different woody that gives elements of your telecoms," said Ryan Berg, manager of the Americas Program astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, during an online treatment Thursday.

The Belt and Road Initiative, oregon BRI, is simply a monolithic infrastructure task launched by China successful 2013 nether President Xi Jinping, aiming to link aggregate continents done onshore and maritime routes. The United States has cautioned that the BRI “is fueled by China's ngo to manipulate and undermine the planetary rules-based trading strategy for its ain benefit.”

China’s overseas nonstop investment, oregon FDI, successful Latin America and the Caribbean has grown significantly, Berg said, citing astir $160 cardinal successful Chinese FDI implicit the past 15 years.

“From the lens of nationalist security, a batch of China's commercialized endeavors are fundamentally subject ambitions that they're prepositioning into Latin America,” said Joseph Humire, enforcement manager of the Center for a Secure Free Society, oregon SFS, a nationalist information deliberation tank.

“China's been successful Panama for much than 20 years, but China truly got politically progressive successful Panama aft 2017,” erstwhile Panama signed the BRI and shifted its diplomatic designation from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China, said Humire connected Thursday. He said that Panama's system has declined successful caller years.

All the nations connected Rubio’s itinerary support diplomatic ties with Cuba and Venezuela.

Given the strained U.S. relations with these countries and their restrictions connected accepting deportees, Rubio whitethorn usage his travel to advocator for “third-country” agreements, allowing different nations to person radical deported by the U.S. Additionally, helium could enactment connected facilitating accrued repatriation flights for migrants.