April 28 (Reuters) – The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago released a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty on Tuesday, saying recent actions by China are an attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are monitoring with vigilance China’s targeted economic pressure and the recent actions that have affected Panama-flagged vessels,” the statement said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure.”
Panama’s Supreme Court in late January invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession granting CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company the right to operate the Balboa and Cristobal terminals on the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the Panama Canal.
The cancellation followed mounting U.S. pressure to curb Chinese influence around the strategic canal, which handles about 5% of global maritime trade.
CK Hutchison, which operated the ports for nearly 30 years, has rejected the court ruling, accused Panamanian authorities of unlawfully seizing property, and launched an international arbitration case against the country, claiming damages of more than $2 billion.
The Panamanian court ruling was followed by a surge in detentions and inspections of Panama-flagged vessels in China in apparent retaliation.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry called the statement “entirely baseless and misleading”, accused the United States of politicising ports, and said it would take steps to safeguard China’s interests in Panama.
“China also urges the relevant countries not to be deceived or exploited by malevolent forces,” added Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez in Los Angeles and Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto)
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