President Mulino declared that blood, sweat and tears have been shed, there will be no dialogue.

On December 26, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino reaffirmed his country's sovereignty over the Panama Canal, in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's threat to regain control of the waterway.

The Panama Canal is at the center of a dispute between the country of the same name and the United States over control. (Source: Dreamstime)

AFP news agency quoted President Mulino at a regular press conference emphasizing: "This canal belongs to Panama and belongs to the Panamanian people. There is no possibility of any dialogue about this reality. We have shed blood, sweat and tears for the canal."

Affirming that since the signing of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty to build the transoceanic route in 1903, the canal has belonged to Panama, Mr. Mulino said clearly: "There is no possibility of discussing anything to review the legal- political reality of the canal because "there is nothing to talk about. The canal belongs to Panama, period."

Earlier on December 23, Mr. Trump criticized what he called unfair fees for American ships passing through the Panama Canal and alluded to China's growing influence over this important waterway.

The US President-elect declared that if Panama cannot ensure "safe, efficient and reliable operations" at the canal, "Washington will demand the unconditional return of full control of the canal to the US."

On this issue, President Mulino rejected the possibility of reducing fees, while denying that China has any influence on this important sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans .

“At the canal, fees are not decided at the whim of the president or the administrator, but there is a public and transparent process set up to determine them,” he said.

In addition, noting that at this time, Mr. Trump "is not the President of the United States nor does he have any government", the Panamanian leader made it clear that he will wait until the President-elect and the new US government take office on January 20, 2025 to discuss all bilateral issues.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ong-trump-threatens-to-increase-the-control-of-the-panama-channel-of-president-mulino-refuses-to-remove-blood-and-tears-from-the-da-do-se-chang-co-doi-thoai-nao-het-298810.html