{"id":2522596,"date":"2025-12-18T08:01:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beijing-bares-teeth-over-panama-canal-with-south-american-alliances-on-the-line\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T08:03:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:03:50","slug":"beijing-bares-teeth-over-panama-canal-with-south-american-alliances-on-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beijing-bares-teeth-over-panama-canal-with-south-american-alliances-on-the-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Beijing bares teeth over Panama Canal with South American alliances on the line"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbeijing-bares-teeth-over-panama-canal-with-south-american-alliances-on-the-line%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2522596&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/psychological-warfare-underway-at-korean-border-as-retaliation-for-trash-filled-balloons-rages\/\" title=\"Psychological Warfare Escalates at Korean Border in Response to Trash-Filled Balloon Retaliation\">article discusses rising tensions<\/a> between china and the United States over control and influence in the Panama Canal region, a strategically crucial area for global trade and military movement. The chinese Communist Party (CCP) is resisting a U.S.-proposed sale of Panama Canal port operations from the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchinson to American firm BlackRock, demanding greater control thru it&#8217;s Shanghai-based company Cosco.Experts view this as evidence that Hong Kong companies associated with China act as fronts for CCP influence, aiming to maintain strategic leverage.<\/p>\n<p>Losing control or influence over the panama Canal would be a major setback for the U.S., as the canal is vital for rapid military deployment, especially in scenarios like potential conflict over Taiwan. Meanwhile, U.S. actions in the region, including efforts to isolate Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s maduro, further challenge China&#8217;s economic interests in South America. The U.S. is pursuing a diplomatic realignment in the Western Hemisphere, encouraging cooperation with more pro-U.S. governments to reduce regional dependency on China and secure alternative supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>the Washington Examiner highlights the Panama Canal as a key geopolitical flashpoint where China&#8217;s expanding influence is prompting a coordinated U.S. strategic response to protect vital economic and military interests in the Americas.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Beijing bares teeth over Panama Canal as US operations further threaten China&rsquo;s hold in region<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2448255\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/communist-party\/\">Chinese Communist Party<\/a> has begun playing hardball in negotiations over future control of the Panama Canal as United States intervention in Venezuela threatens to further disrupt Chinese economic interests in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/south-america\/\">South America<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a>&nbsp;is threatening to block a U.<\/span>S.-proposed sale of two ports on the Panama Canal controlled by the Hong Kong firm CK Hutchinson to the American firm BlackRock. Having previously demanded Shanghai-based firm Cosco be brought in with an equal stake in the ports, the CCP is now demanding the company be given a majority stake, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/logistics\/panama-ports-deal-hits-impasse-as-china-makes-new-demands-for-its-approval-ff741523\">according to a report<\/a> in <em>The<\/em> <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3924770\/putin-warns-military-escalation-ukraine-gain-more-land-if-no-peace-deal\/\">Putin warns of military escalation in Ukraine to gain more land if no peace deal is reached<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3924159\/mexican-president-sheinbaum-un-help-combat-us-operations-venezuela\/\">Mexican president pleads for UN help to combat US operations against Venezuela<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3919388\/us-uk-need-sweet-deal-jimmy-lai-prisoner-swap-china-conviction\/\">US and UK will need to offer a sweet deal for Jimmy Lai as China stands firm on conviction<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Steve Yates, a senior research fellow <span style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px\">on China at the Heritage Foundation and former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Ch<\/span>eney, told the&nbsp;Washington Examiner&nbsp;that he views the situation as an &ldquo;accidental admission&rdquo; that confirms accusations that these <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3917809\/china-convicts-hong-kong-democracy-leader-jimmy-lai-sedition\/\">Hong Kong<\/a> firms are &ldquo;fronts for Chinese influence and potential control.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Chinese officials] say, &lsquo;Oh, no, no &mdash; these were just commercial companies out of Hong Kong. It&rsquo;s not Communist Party-owned and controlled entities, et cetera, et cetera,&#8217;&rdquo; Yates told the <em>Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;But as we start looking at transition away from their ownership to an American and international ownership model &mdash; lo and behold, they rear their ugly head and say, &lsquo;Wait a minute, we want to control the interests.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Cosco Shipping cargo ship transits through Gatun Lake, an artificial, freshwater lake that is part of the Panama Canal, seen from Gamboa, Panama, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. (AP Photo\/Arnulfo Franco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;So which is it?&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Are these entities that ultimately you seek controlling influence? Is that controlling influence so that you can disrupt global trade at a time of crisis?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-losing-leverage-of-panama-canal-would-be-disaster-for-us\">Losing leverage of Panama Canal would be &lsquo;disaster&rsquo; for US<\/h2>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3374041\/pete-hegseth-panama-lead-us-stop-china-weaponize-canal\/\">Reestablishing control over the canal&rsquo;s ports <\/a>was among the first goals announced by President Donald Trump in his second administration. <\/p>\n<p>A former U.S. diplomat with extensive experience in both China and Latin America told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the Panama Canal is the crown jewel of Chinese power centers on the southern continent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is crazy how China has very intentionally built up such a presence around that canal over the past couple of decades,&rdquo; the former official said<em>.<\/em> &ldquo;This could be a place where some tough decisions are made.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to its importance for global economic interests, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3378971\/hegseth-stresses-us-cannot-be-asleep-at-the-wheel-in-protecting-panama-canal\/\">Canal carries crucial military value<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;From a military standpoint [&hellip;] if that canal is taken out of operation, when there is a conflict in the South China Sea, you probably don&rsquo;t have any idea what the impact that would have on moving assets from one theater to the other. It&rsquo;s enormous. We&rsquo;re talking weeks of delay, all right?&rdquo; the source continued. &ldquo;If we were to lose access to that canal and, God forbid, something [were to] happen that would disable the use of it in a time of conflict, it would be a disaster for us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The most obvious scenario in which the Chinese could exploit a shutdown of traffic through the Panama Canal is in the event of an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3896744\/xi-presses-trump-taiwan-china-japan-feud-spills-over-un-korea\/\">invasion of Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The island territory, which Beijing is openly preparing to invade in the next few years, is a crucial economic and military asset for the United States. War games consistently show that response time and continued material support from the U.S. military are among the most critical variables in whether Taiwan could weather an onslaught from the mainland.<\/p>\n<p>China&rsquo;s irritation with the White House doesn&rsquo;t stop at the canal.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s campaign to isolate and depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will almost certainly hinder Chinese ambitions to use the region to benefit their production economy.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-us-priorities-in-caribbean-could-realign-diplomacy\">US priorities in Caribbean could realign diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p>Trump designated the Venezuelan government as a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3920264\/trump-venezuela-terrorist-organization-blockade\/\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-consider-enacting-statute-to-increase-punishments-for-domestic-terrorism\/\" title=\"Lawmakers consider enacting statute to increase punishments for domestic terrorism\">foreign terrorist organization<\/a><\/a> on Tuesday, accusing the Maduro government of supporting &ldquo;terrorism, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.&rdquo; He has&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-on-defense\/3920448\/trump-makes-clear-his-goal-is-regime-change-in-venezuela\/\">enacted<\/a>&nbsp;a &ldquo;total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela&rdquo; as a means of leverage against the Maduro regime, citing the 2007 nationalization of oil assets owned by the United States and other foreign nations by Maduro&rsquo;s predecessor, Hugo Chavez.<\/p>\n<p>Trump stated bluntly in an interview earlier this month that Maduro&rsquo;s &ldquo;days are numbered&rdquo; and that a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ground invasion couldn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t be ruled out as an option.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A lot of China&rsquo;s assessment of this is going to depend on what are the results [&hellip;] does the pressure campaign on the Maduro regime result in Maduro, like Asad, fleeing the country &mdash; and there&rsquo;s kind of a peaceful evolution within Venezuela after his departure?&rdquo; Yates told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&#8233;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, photo released by China&rsquo;s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Venezuela&rsquo;s President Nicolas Maduro react during a welcome ceremony in Beijing. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a trip to deepen ties and seek increased financial support from one of his ailing country&rsquo;s biggest creditors. (Yao Dawei\/Xinhua via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yates explained that in the event of Maduro being toppled, there is a possibility of a &ldquo;more reform-minded government&rdquo; to emerge that would &ldquo;open up much more manageable options for the United States in the region.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The White House listed the Western Hemisphere as its area of preeminent concern in this year&rsquo;s National Security Strategy, endorsing a high-handed intervention into South American geopolitics, a strategy dubbed the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/magazine-letter-from-the-editor\/3915610\/seizing-venezuelan-tanker-monroe-doctrine-in-action\/\">&ldquo;Trump Corollary&rdquo; to the Monroe Doctrine<\/a> by officials.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple nations on the continent have already embraced more MAGA-friendly governments on their own, including Argentina, El Salvador, Bolivia, and most recently, Chile. <\/p>\n<p>The realignment of traditional socialist South American countries toward the U.S. could erode Western dependence on Chinese production and manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If South America emphasizes the &lsquo;America&rsquo; more than the &lsquo;South&rsquo; &mdash; and if North and South America, maybe together with some other allies, are maximizing access to resources, revitalizing supply chains, port facilities, shipping, manufacturing &mdash; those opportunities get diversified across North and South America,&rdquo; Yates explained. &ldquo;What that does is it decreases American and other dependencies on China. It will naturally slow down some of China&rsquo;s export-led and mercantilist economic model that is their survival.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3924159\/mexican-president-sheinbaum-un-help-combat-us-operations-venezuela\/\">MEXICAN PRESIDENT PLEADS FOR UN HELP TO COMBAT US OPERATIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3916245\/bolivia-fernando-aramayo-arms-are-open-us-trump-strategy-south-america\/\">told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> last week<\/a> that &ldquo;[Bolivian] arms are open&rdquo; to the U.S. for investment and tourism following the election of conservative President Rodrigo Paz Pereira.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You can feel confident that Bolivia will respect all the agreements that we are building right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We need to show to the world that this alliance between Bolivia and U.S. has an impact in the short term.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Aramayo said he has already met with Chinese officials, and the administration is happy to have a &ldquo;respectful dialogue,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s wary of their track record.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m an economist.&#8233;And dramatically, if you see what China represents for the last 20 years in Bolivia, was a&nbsp;debt&nbsp;that represents 13% of our total bilateral debt,&rdquo; Aramayo told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;So we can have better agreements with China &hellip; but at the present, China, they don&rsquo;t represent for us benefits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beijing toughens stance on Panama Canal amid US moves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2522598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP18257838113872.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4290,47952,38259],"class_list":["post-2522596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-beijing","tag-panama-canal","tag-south-america"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP18257838113872.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522596"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522600,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522596\/revisions\/2522600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}