| Advertisement |
Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said it was "absurd" that U.S. government ships are charged to use the Panama Canal after Panama denied a claim that it had agreed to allow them free traversal. Before reporters on Thursday in the Dominican Republic, Rubio said the United States has "expectations" that Panama will not charge U.S. vessels for using the canal as the U.S. military is obliged to protect it if it comes under attack.
Advertisement
"I find it absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obliged to protect in a time of conflict," he said during the press conference with President Luis Abinader in Santo Domingo.
The comments came as Rubio is concluding his first international trip as the United States' top diplomat, which began Saturday with a stop in Panama, a country that has become a focus of the Trump administration as U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to retake control of the Panama Canal.
Rubio remarked Thursday that he made clear the United States' expectations during conversations with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino earlier in the week, suggesting it may take time for the U.S. wants to be implemented.
"Those are our expectations. They were clear. They were clearly understood in those conversations," he said. "But I respect very much the fact that Panama has a process of laws and procedures that they need to follow as it relates to the Panamanian port."
"We'll allow them to work through those processes. We intend to make it amicable."
On Wednesday night, the State Department issued a statement claiming, "The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal -- a claim that was swiftly denied by the Panama Canal Authority, which said no such agreement had been made.
Mulino told Rubio during their meeting that the canal is an autonomous entity. He has also said the sovereignty of the canal is not up for debate.
During his own press conference Thursday, Mulino reiterated that his government will safeguard Panama's sovereignty and interests, while warning the United States that their relationship cannot be "on the basis of falsehoods."
"I am very surprised by yesterday's statement from the Department of State because they are issuing important, situational communications from the entity that governs U.S. foreign policy under the president of the United States based on a falsehood, and that is intolerable. Simply and plainly intolerable," he said, according to a readout from his office.
"Panama express my absolute rejection of continuing to explore the path of managing the bilateral relationship based on lies and falsehood."
He later confirmed in a post on X that he is scheduled to speak with Trump over the phone on Friday afternoon.
Readouts from the meeting also showed that Rubio told Mulino that the current situation with the canal was "unacceptable," referring to Chinese interests in the region.
He stated, without proof, that China's influence over the canal violated their treaties while warning that absent immediate changes, the United States would take necessary measures.
There is no evidence that the Chinese government has control of the canal. Panama Ports, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, operates two ports at the canal.
