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Trump-Panama Tension
Context
Recently, Donald Trump, the former U.S. President, expressed concern over Panama's control of the canal, particularly in light of China's growing global influence. Trump is troubled by the idea of any foreign power, especially China, gaining control over the canal or its operations, given the canal's importance to U.S. trade and military strategy.
Strategic Importance of the Panama Canal
- The Panama Canal is an 82-km (51-mile) artificial waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Panama through the Isthmus of Panama.
- It is a man-made water passage.
- It cuts through the middle of Panama, a country occupying the strip of land between Central America and South America.
- It provides the shortest maritime route between the two oceans, significantly reducing the time and distance ships need to travel compared to the alternative routes around South America.
- This makes it a critical global trade route, impacting international commerce and military strategy.
- Physical features:The Canal’s principal physical features are
- Gatun Lake, and the central man-made lake stretching nearly all the way across the Isthmus;
- Gaillard Cut, the eight-mile-long excavation through the Continental Divide that extends Gatun Lake to Pedro Miguel Locks
- the locks on both sides of the Isthmus that raise ships between sea level and the lake (Gatun Locks on the Atlantic and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks on the Pacific)
- the ports of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic
- The United States is its main user, accounting for 74 percent of cargo, followed by China with 21 percent.
- 5 percent of world maritime trade passes through the canal, which connects more than 1,900 ports in 170 countries.
History of the Panama Canal
- Early Exploration and Challenges: Before the construction of the Panama Canal, ships had to sail around the southern tip of South America (Cape Horn or the Strait of Magellan), which was both time-consuming and inefficient.
- In the early 20th century, the possibility of creating a shortcut through Panama was realized.
- The canal was built between 1904 and 1914, mostly by the US, with then-President Theodore Roosevelt overseeing the construction.
- The canal was operated and controlled by the U.S. until the Torrijos-Carter Treaty of 1977, which set the stage for the handover of control to Panama by 1999.
- The Panama Canal was officially handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999, marking the end of more than 85 years of U.S. control.
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