Last autumn for the first time, two Chinese-operated merchant ships crossed the Arctic Ocean, near the Russian island of Novaya Zemlya.
The ship Niuniu Star, coming from the Chinese port of Nansha, and heading towards St. Petersburg, crossed paths with the ship Flying Fish, which was sailing in the opposite direction.
,HMS Flying Fish which carries more than 5,000 containers, is a Panamax vessel, a global standard, meaning it has the largest capacity that can be accommodated by the Panama Canal facilities.
It also became the largest ship to cross the Arctic route through Russian waters, up until that time.Chinese companies have focused heavily on port infrastructure projects, under what Beijing calls its Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese projects have emerged strongly in facilities belonging to the Panama Canal, and neighboring countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has given them unprecedented “influence” there.
Panama Canal :An artificial waterway
The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, and is considered one of the world’s greatest engineering achievements.
Rooseveltand Panama Canal
President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal—a trans-isthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
President Roosevelt responded by dispatching U.S. warships to Panama City (on the Pacific) and Colón (on the Atlantic) in support of Panamanian independence. Colombian troops were unable to negotiate the jungles of the Darien Strait and Panama declared independence on November 3, 1903.
The canal was officially opened in 1914 after a decade of US-led construction, with the aim of facilitating global maritime trade by reducing the distance and time required for ships to cross between the oceans, instead of going around the South American continent via Cape Horn.
Chinese companies, or those based in China, operate the two entrances to the Panama Canal, the Atlantic port of Cristobal to the east and the Pacific port of Balboa to the west.
China In 2018
In 2018, China Communications and China Harbour Engineering Corporation won the contract to build the fourth bridge, which crosses the canal and extends for 4 miles.
The project was part of agreements Panama signed with Beijing in 2017, following the severing of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, aimed at turning the canal into a major hub for the movement and distribution of Chinese products in Latin America.
Chinese activities
Chinese activities appear to have been the motivation behind US President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial post on his Truth Social platform on December 21.
“We should buy Greenland from Denmark and take back control of the Panama Canal,” Trump said.
Ironically, Trump’s announcement came just days before the death of former US President Jimmy Carter, who signed the agreements for the gradual handover of the Panama Canal.
Panama and Chinese Silk Road Initiative
It is noteworthy that China launched OBOR in 2013. It is the most ambitious cross-border inter-connectivity plan in the history of humanity and includes more than 70 countries in Asia, South-Central Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
It will cost in the region of US$1 trillion. Although it is not the first time that a Latin American country appears in an official statement on OBOR, it is the first time China has signed a specific agreement to incorporate a Latin American country into this initiative.
Panama Canal : MoU with Chaina
The MoU notes: “Panama adheres to the Chinese Silk Road Initiative, enhancing its role as ‘the great connection’ with the Panama Canal” and adds; “Panama’s accession to the Belt and Road initiative is aligned with the role that the country plays both in the region and the world… further strengthening world maritime trade”.
Interestingly,on 12 June, the China Landbridge Group (one of the larger Chinese private companies) began construction of the Panama-Colón Container Megaport that will have docks for Super Post-Panamax ships (super tankers that do not fit the original locks). The incorporation of Panama into OBOR bids farewell to the Nicaragua Canal and raises at least three key issues for Panamanians and Latin Americans
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