A view of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China’s influence in the region, Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. REUTERS\/Enea Lebrun<\/p>\n
US-Led Bloc Condemns China Pressure on Panama-Flagged Ships<\/p>\n
Secretary of State\u00a0Marco Rubio\u00a0on Monday released a joint statement with five Latin American and Caribbean governments backing Panama\u2019s sovereignty and condemning pressure tied to recent actions against Panama-flagged vessels, escalating a maritime dispute that has increasingly moved from port concessions into global shipping and geopolitics.<\/p>\n
Issued jointly by the United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, the statement said the governments were \u201cmonitoring with vigilance\u201d what it called China\u2019s \u201ctargeted economic pressure\u201d following Panama\u2019s decision earlier this year to remove\u00a0CK Hutchison Holdings\u00a0from control of the Balboa and Crist\u00f3bal terminals flanking the\u00a0Panama Canal.<\/p>\n
The governments said recent actions affecting Panama-flagged ships were \u201ca blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of the nations of our hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPanama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure,\u201d the statement said. \u201cAny attempts to undermine Panama\u2019s sovereignty are a threat to us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coordinated statement follows mounting concern over what U.S. officials and shipping observers say is a sharp increase in pressure on Panama-flagged shipping.<\/p>\n
In March,\u00a0Federal Maritime Commission\u00a0Chair\u00a0Laura DiBella<\/p>\n
was using port state control inspections to pressure Panama following the canal port dispute.<\/p>\n
added to those concerns, showing Panama-flagged vessels<\/p>\n
accounted for 91 of 123 ship detentions in Chinese ports<\/p>\n
in March under the Tokyo MOU regime\u2014an abrupt jump from January and February levels and a concentration that drew attention across the shipping industry.<\/p>\n
While port state control detentions are formally tied to safety and compliance, the timing of the spike, following Hutchison\u2019s ouster and amid rising diplomatic friction, has fueled allegations that maritime regulation is being used as leverage in a broader geopolitical contest.<\/p>\n
That dispute traces back to January, when Panama\u2019s Supreme Court<\/p>\n
the legal framework supporting Hutchison\u2019s decades-old concessions, prompting authorities to assume control of the two strategic terminals.<\/p>\n
Under temporary arrangements,\u00a0APM Terminals, part of\u00a0A.P. Moller \u2013 Maersk,<\/p>\n
while\u00a0Terminal Investment Limited, controlled by\u00a0Mediterranean Shipping Company, assumed operations at Crist\u00f3bal pending a new concession framework.<\/p>\n
Hutchison has since launched arbitration proceedings against both Panama and Maersk, while Beijing has criticized the removal of the Hong Kong-linked operator and rejected U.S. accusations surrounding ship detentions.<\/p>\n