Panama’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the concession held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal is unconstitutional, an outcome that advanced a US aim to block any influence by China over the strategic waterway.
The court’s ruling followed an audit by Panama’s comptroller, which alleged irregularities in the 25-year extension of the concession granted in 2021.
The administration of US President Donald Trump made blocking China’s influence over the Panama Canal one of its priorities in the hemisphere.
Photo: AP
Despite the insistence by the Panamanian government and the canal authority that China has no influence over its operations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that the US viewed the operation of the ports as a national security issue, with Trump going as far as to say Panama should return the canal to US control.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said that despite the significance of the court’s decision to annul key port contracts held by CK Hutchison’s subsidiary, ports in the country would operate without disruption.
APM Terminals Panama, a Maersk subsidiary, has shown willingness to temporarily take over the operations of the terminals and assured that there would be no layoffs, he said.
Hong Kong said it “firmly rejects” the ruling, adding that it “strongly opposes any foreign government using coercive, repressive or other unreasonable means in international economic and trade relations to seriously harm the legitimate business interests of Hong Kong enterprises.”
CK Hutchison’s subsidiary, Panama Ports Co (PPC), said its concession was the result of transparent international bidding.
The ruling “lacks legal basis and jeopardizes not only PPC and its contract, but also the well-being and stability of thousands of Panamanian families who depend directly and indirectly on port activity, but also the rule of law and legal certainty in the country,” it said.
It said that it reserves all rights to proceed legally in Panama or elsewhere, but gave no more details.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said China would take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of “the Chinese company,” without elaborating on the potential steps.
Panama’s comptroller audited the concession to PPC, which had held the contract to operate the ports since 1997.
The concession was renewed in 2021 for 25 years, during the prior Panamanian administration.
Comptroller Anel Flores said the audit found payments that were not made, accounting errors and the apparent existence of “ghost” concessions operating within the ports since 2015.
PPC denied the allegations.
The audit determined that the irregularities had cost the government about US$300 million since the concession was extended and an estimated US$1.2 billion during the original 25-year contract.
Flores also said the extension was granted without the required endorsement of his office.
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking US$2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Co, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), on Friday said in a statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. The Panamanian government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
RSS