Panama President Softens Stance on China, Hopes to Ease Tensions

Jose Raul Mulino said while inspecting Balboa Port on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal: "We have no intention... of having problems with China. I hope... this situation can cool down... we can return to the normalcy of political relations, and understand that this is a problem that will be resolved." When asked about the detention of Panamanian-flagged vessels in Chinese ports, Mulino said that such inspections are not uncommon in global shipping, and that similar trends have affected other major ship registries, including Liberia and the Marshall Islands. He added that Panama is still evaluating the situation. He stated, "They are not related to political retaliation," but also added that Panama has expressed concern to the Chinese authorities and hopes to confirm the basis for detaining ships for inspection. Reuters reported that the US Federal Maritime Commission said last month that it was closely monitoring the surge in detentions of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, stating that it had exceeded historical norms. Mulino's remarks mark a more moderate approach than Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, who said yesterday that the increase in inspections and detentions was a result of Panama's Supreme Court ruling that Cheung Kong Holdings had no right to operate the Balboa and Cristobal Port terminals. Panama's Supreme Court announced at the end of January that it upheld the invalidity of the legal framework that granted Cheung Kong Holdings' Panama Ports Company the right to operate these two terminals in 1997, a decision opposed by Beijing. The annulment ruling came after the United States pressured Panama to curb China's influence around the strategic canal, which handles 5% of global maritime trade. (Compiler: Li Peishan) 1150410