"Jose Raul Mulino, Panama's president, said on Friday that until the court's ruling was executed maritime officials would work with Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison, to ensure continuing operations. Once the concession is formally ended, a subsidiary of the Danish logistics company AP Moller-Maersk will operate the ports in a transitional phase until a new concession can be awarded, Mulino said."
"The Trump administration made blocking China's influence over the canal one of its priorities in the hemisphere. Panama was Marco Rubio's first overseas stop as US secretary of state. Despite the insistence by Panama's government and the canal authority that China had no influence, Rubio made clear that Washington viewed the operation of the ports as a national security issue. Donald Trump, the US president, has said Panama should return the canal to US control."
Panama's supreme court ruled that the concession held by a subsidiary of a Chinese company was unconstitutional, prompting immediate diplomatic rebuke from Beijing. The president affirmed that ports at both ends of the canal will continue operating as usual while maritime officials coordinate with Panama Ports Company (PPC) to ensure uninterrupted activity. Once the concession is formally ended, an AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary will run the ports temporarily until a new concession is awarded. The ruling followed a comptroller audit alleging irregularities in a 25-year extension granted in 2021. The decision intersects with longstanding U.S. concerns about Chinese influence over the canal.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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