The Panama Canal: Panama’s sovereign rights under threat?

The Panama Canal plans to invest some $3 billion over the next five years for the development of new businesses, including a gas pipeline, the administration of the Atlantic-Pacific waterway announced on Wednesday. EFE In an official statement, the Canal indicated that it plans to invest more than $8.5 billion in the next five-year period “to maintain the modern, competitive and sustainable waterway.” Among the main programs to develop is the in…

The Panama Canal: Panama’s sovereign rights under threat?

Written by Marc Jütten. President Donald Trump threatens that the US will take back the Panama Canal, a strategic maritime route for global trade, because of perceived Chinese influence in the Canal Zone. In fact, a Hong Kong-based private company owns two of the canal’s five port terminals at strategically important points. The Panama Canal is a key maritime trade route that handles about 40 % of US container traffic and approximately 5 % of wo…