China Controls the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal, which was "returned" to the Panamanians in 2000 as per Pres. Jimmy Carter's agreement with Panama in 1977, is now under control of a Chinese company called Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Hutchison is based out of Hong Kong and has direct links with the CCP and the PLA.
In 1997 the company was given a 25- to 50-year contract to run the two major ports on either side of the canal. According to some congressmen in the 90's, China is using Panama as a base of operations in the Americas. Apparently they are smuggling people into the United States illegally, coming in from Panama through Mexico.
I have problems with this for a couple of reasons. First off, I think the deal made by Carter to give control of the canal to Panama was just stupid. I mean, we paid for the rights to the land, we built the canal, we use it more than anyone else. It only makes sense that we should be the ones who control it. And with China controlling the canal, they would be able to restrict the usage of it if a war ever broke out between us. Not to mention they can use this as leverage against other countries to get them to bow to their wishes.
http://www.conservativeusa.org/panama-washtimes.htm
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050117-115550-1929r.htm
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17269
posted by Anonymous @ 6:08 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Who cares if a bunch of other nations from Latin America and Europe didn't want us to keep what was rightfully ours? If your neighbors get together and decide that you shouldn't own your house should that make a difference? Should we make decisions based on what other nations think, or should we do what we judge to be in our best interest? The fact is Carter was just too weak to stand up to the international community and the Panamanians. Whether they wanted the canal zone or not, they had no right to it. They never would have been able to build the canal themselves. They wouldn't have even been an independent country were it not for the U.S., so I don't see where they get off demanding the canal that we built. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is our leaders need to have the courage to stand up to international pressure when it's in our interest to.
And my other point is that, yes, other nations do use the canal, and that's what I'm worried about. China could use this as leverage against other countries that use the canal to get them to do what China wants.
Do we really need a law to tell us to hold on to our own territories? In the case of the Panama Canal, the Panamanians rebelled against the Colombian government and demanded independence justly because they all wanted us to build the canal there, and Colombia had balked on their agreement to do it with us. So it's not like we forced their hand. Besides, if they didn't want us to build it, Nicaragua was more than happy to have us build one through their land.
And we didn't promise to give the canal to Panama in the original agreement. It wasn't until 1977 that Pres. Carter made that promise, which is justly the deal that I'm criticizing.
I agree that relations with other countries are important, and we need to work at gaining more allies throughout the world. But there are times when we have to choose between doing what's in our national interest and doing what will make the world like us more. I think our first priority needs to be to protect our own interests. In the case of the canal, I think the Panama Canal is too important for us to leave it in the hands of a potential enemy, who may use it to strengthen their own power in the region. It's somewhat like losing Cuba to the USSR during the Cold War, though not quite as critical.
How can you say the canal wasn't rightfully ours? We made an agreement to purchase the land from Panama, similar to buying Alaska from Russia or the Louisiana Purchase from the French. We owned all the rights to the land, and no one forced Panama to agree to the deal. Like I explained in my last post, Nicaragua also wanted us to build a canal through their land, in case Panama didn't want it.
I don't have a problem with other countries improving their standing in the world, so long as they aren't a threat to us. China since 1990 has publicly declared the United States to be their "main enemy," and has threatened the U.S. with nukes on multiple occasions. We've caught spies of theirs recently trying to steal military and technology secrets from the United States, and thousands of Chinese have been entering the U.S. illegally coming in from Panama. This is why I don't like the idea of China controlling such a critical port in the Americas.
However, they did purchase it legally from Panama, so I don't know what we can do about it at this point. My point with the post was to criticize the original deal that Pres. Carter made to get us in this situation.
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