PANAMA PRESIDENT DEFENDS SOVEREIGNTY AS US WARNS OF ACTION OVER CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON CANAL

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Bernama-AA) -- Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday hosted United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Panama City and said his country's "sovereignty is not in question" amid President Donald Trump's demand to take control of the Panama Canal, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

"Panama's sovereignty is not in question, and I explained in detail what the Canal in Panamanian hands represents for all of us, and that I have to preserve it, as any other Panamanian in my position would do," Mulino told reporters after his meeting with Rubio.

"We had a very respectful and cordial meeting," he added.

The president said he had a meeting for almost an hour in private with the American diplomat and said Trump is more concerned about the ports than the canal itself.

"The president has his opinion on the Chinese presence, which will be clarified in due time in the technical bodies of the Canal," said Mulino, adding that he does not have judgment to give an opinion on anything further and is waiting for the audit by the Comptroller's Office.

"There is no doubt that the Panama Canal is operated by our country and will continue to be so," he said.

Mulino also assured Panama's people that they can rest easy.

"There is no threat against the Treaty, its validity, and much less the use of military force to seize the Canal," he added.

Later, the State Department issued a statement regarding the meeting, which said Rubio, on his first foreign trip, addressed critical regional and global challenges during the meeting.

"Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martinez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal," spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

"Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty," said Bruce.

The two men also discussed immigration during their meeting.

Bruce said Rubio emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts to end the hemisphere’s illegal migration crisis and thanked Mulino for his support of a joint repatriation programme, which has reduced illegal migration through the Darien Gap.

Mulino said he highlighted that the presence of undocumented immigrants has decreased.

"I think that the decrease in undocumented immigrants will continue," said the Panamanian leader.

Trump said Friday that Panama violated its agreement with the US on the Panama Canal and declared that the US will take back control of the canal.

"We built the Panama Canal 110 years ago. Think of it, the most expensive development we ever did, and really one of the wonders of the world, one of the great wonders of the world," he told reporters at White House.

"We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and Panama has been ripping down all the China language signs. They've been working like mad to try, but about 70 percent of the signs were up and they were written in Chinese, and that's not the deal," he said.

"So, we're going to take it back. They've already offered to do many things, but we think it's appropriate that we take it back. They've totally violated the agreement. We have an agreement. They violated the agreement, and Marco Rubio is going over there to talk to the gentleman that's in charge," he added.

-- BERNAMA-AA