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US Threat to 'Take back' the Panama Canal

Vixen

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US President Trump pledged in his inauguration speech to 'take back' the Panama Canal. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" in laying out plans for space exploration.
Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied.
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Here's what José Mulino, President of the Republic of Panama had to say in response:

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Fact check: 38,000 Americans did not die, as claimed by Trump. Many were overseas workers. US workers were on a 'gold' wage rate; those largely from the Caribbean on a lower one.

How true is it that China has taken control of it, as Trump claims?
Panama is a founding member of the Alliance for the Development in Democracy (ADD) and the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP). Panama also serves as President Pro Tempore of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) and Co-Chair of the Economic and Health Dialogue of the Americas (EHA).Bilateral Representation Principal U. S. embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List.Panama maintains an embassy in the United States at 2862 McGill Terrace, NW, Washington, DCIf Panama has allowed China to control or operate any function of the canal…they may be in violation of agreements made with the Americas and other countries for the trade route.
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Right now, despite significant domestic and international opposition, the contract with China’s Hutchinson Ports was renewed for another 25 years. Chinese companies such as Landbridge Group and the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings now operate ports at both ends of the canal. This presence raises concerns about potential dual-use infrastructure and strategic maneuvering. @diane Jennings on X-twitter
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Over to you: can the US take back the Panama Canal and if so, how? Has the Republic of Panama violated the terms of agreement?
 
Quite seriously they should get ready to destroy the canal the second the USA invades them. Blow it to smithereens.
 
Darat said:
Quite seriously they should get ready to destroy the canal the second the USA invades them. Blow it to smithereens.
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Put the locks out of service. Fixing them would be very time and resource consuming but would be doable as and when Panama resumed control.
 
The Don said:
Put the locks out of service. Fixing them would be very time and resource consuming but would be doable as and when Panama resumed control.
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I suspect that if Panama destroyed the locks, they would never resume control again. The US would take over, rebuild and widen, and never ever return control over the canal to Panama.
 
It's running low on water, limiting traffic. There are also plans to provide alternatives in other countries long term.
 
catsmate said:
Talk to the Chinese about military assistance.
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Aaaahahahahaha seriously?

This wouldn't be Ukraine, begging for NATO's table scraps. This would be the US military industrial complex in all its glory, on home ground.

And that's before we get to the part where the US and China both have a vested interest in keeping the Canal open. China has nothing to lose, by letting the US take over day to day operations.
 
arthwollipot said:
Panama is the US military's home ground?
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The entire western hemisphere is the US Navy's home ground (well, home waters). Push came to shove, Chinese military support would be sent to Davy Jones' Locker long before they ever made landfall.

ETA: And really, this close to home, the USAF alone could sort it out, flying from CONUS bases.
 
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theprestige said:
The entire western hemisphere is the US Navy's home ground (well, home waters). Push came to shove, Chinese military support would be sent to Davy Jones' Locker long before they ever made landfall.

ETA: And really, this close to home, the USAF alone could sort it out, flying from CONUS bases.
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Do you believe that the US would literally go to war against China over this?
 
Maybe the question should be "should the US go to war?" I think, with Trump, war with China is a definite possibility.
 
arthwollipot said:
Do you believe that the US would literally go to war against China over this?
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I literally believe it would never come to that, because China cannot project that kind of power into the western hemisphere, and it's in their best interest to simply let the US take over day to day operation of the Canal.

Do you literally believe that China would go to war with the US over this?

Just because China could (absent the pax americana navalis) spank Australia, that doesn't mean they could do the same to that Pax Americana itself.
 
theprestige said:
I literally believe it would never come to that, because China cannot project that kind of power into the western hemisphere, and it's in their best interest to simply let the US take over day to day operation of the Canal.

Do you literally believe that China would go to war with the US over this?

Just because China could (absent the pax americana navalis) spank Australia, that doesn't mean they could do the same to that Pax Americana itself.
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Because America is special. America is the only thing standing between peace and chaos. Nobody can resist the might of the Evil Empire without help from America! Because America is just the ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ best at everything.

Give me a ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ break. Pax Americana? ◊◊◊◊ off. Take your ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Pax Americana to ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Ukraine.
 
I am not seeing any threat to Panama from CHina...and I have a massive mistrust of CHina.
ANyway, if we try a military takeover the Panamanian goverment could with just a few pounds of plastic explosive in the right place,pretty much wreck the locks on the canal.
 
arthwollipot said:
Because America is special. America is the only thing standing between peace and chaos. Nobody can resist the might of the Evil Empire without help from America! Because America is just the ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ best at everything.

Give me a ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ break. Pax Americana? ◊◊◊◊ off. Take your ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Pax Americana to ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Ukraine.
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Calm down. It's just geography. The Pacific's a pretty big ocean, and attenuates the strength of anybody reaching over it, in either direction.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Calm down. It's just geography. The Pacific's a pretty big ocean, and attenuates the strength of anybody reaching over it, in either direction.
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THe US could project force across the Pacific a lot easier then China could. but it would be expensive.
CHina, for all it's naval build up is nowhere near a "blue water " navy.-
 
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