Panama City, 29 April (H.S.): A coalition led by the United States, alongside Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago, has issued a resolute joint declaration affirming Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal, decrying China's maneuvers as an assault on hemispheric maritime independence.

The statement, released on Tuesdsy, underscores vigilant oversight of Beijing's targeted economic pressure, including intensified inspections and detentions of Panama-flagged vessels—actions perceived as reprisals following Panama's Supreme Court invalidation in late January of a 1997 concession held by CK Hutchison's Panama Ports Company.

This Hong Kong-based entity, which managed the canal's Balboa and Cristobal terminals for nearly three decades, contests the ruling, alleging unlawful expropriation, and has initiated international arbitration seeking over $2 billion in reparations.

Canal's Pivotal Role Under Siege

Handling approximately 5-6% of global maritime trade—spanning 144 routes to more than 150 nations—the 51-mile engineering marvel connects the Atlantic and Pacific, obviating hazardous detours around Cape Horn and annually facilitating $270 billion in cargo, including 500 million tons of commodities like food, minerals, and manufactures.

Recent US advocacy to diminish Chinese sway near this chokepoint, amid the US-Iran conflagration diverting traffic via escalated LNG tanker passages and roughly 300 extra crossings since October, amplifies its strategic imperative.

Panama's authorities maintain the waterway's operational zenith, with daily transits occasionally hitting the 40-vessel cap, bolstered by post-2016 expansions doubling capacity for New Panamax behemoths—yet external frictions threaten this equilibrium until Middle Eastern hostilities and rival influences subside.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar