Panama formally pulled out of China's massive Belt and Road infrastructure programme, following pressure from the United States to reduce Beijing's influence on the Panama Canal, President Jose Raul Mulino has announced.
Mulino told reporters on Thursday that the Panamanian Embassy in Beijing had given China the required 90-day notice of its decision not to renew its involvement in the plan.
Mulino also accused the United States government of lying a day earlier when the US State Department claimed that US government vessels would be able to cross the country's namesake canal without paying fees.
Speaking to journalists, Mulino expressed his "absolute rejection" of managing US-Panama ties "based on lies and falsehoods."
China expressed its support for Panama after the Central American nation rejected claims by the Trump administration that US government vessels could transit the Panama Canal free of charge, state media reported.
China has "always respected Panama's sovereignty over the canal and recognised the canal's status as a permanently neutral international waterway," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
Rejecting US claim
Guo emphasised that China "respects the management and operation of the canal by the Panamanian government and has never interfered in canal affairs."
Panama rejected the US claim early on Thursday.
The US State Department had stated that US government vessels could now transit the Panama Canal without incurring fees, potentially saving the US millions of dollars annually.
"The US government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge, saving the US government millions of dollars a year," the State Department posted on X, accompanied by an image of a naval vessel entering the canal’s locks.
In response, the Panama Canal Authority, responsible for setting tolls and other fees, denied the claim, stating it "has not made any adjustments" and was open to "establishing a dialogue with US officials."
Over the past 26 years, the US has paid $25.4 million for the passage of warships and submarines, averaging less than $1 million annually, according to Panama’s Embassy in Cuba.
Additionally, China urged Panama to "resist external interference" in its Belt and Road cooperation amid ongoing threats by Trump to take control of the vital canal.
___Source: TRT