US Secretary of State, Mark Rubio He said on Thursday that China is likely to have an emergency plan to close the Panama Canal in the event of a collision with the US and that Washington intends to face a threat to national security.

A few days before visiting Central America on his first trip abroad as a leading US diplomat, Rubio, in an interview with The Megyn Kelly Show at Sirius XM, conveyed some of President Donald Trump’s concerns about Chinese influence .

Trump, in his opening speech on January 20, again accused Panama of defining the promises he made for the final change in the channel’s status in 1999 and of making his operation in China – allegations that the Panama government has categorically refused.

It was then sworn in that the US would take the channel back, but didn’t say when and how.

Rubio, during his career in the Senate, identified a Hong Kong -based company operating two ports at the Atlantic and Pacific channel as a risk to the US because “They can do what the (Chinese) government tells them.”

“And if the government in China in a conflict tells them to close the Panama Canal, they should do it.”said Rubio. “And in fact, I have no doubt that they have an emergency plan to do so. This is an immediate threat. “

“The channel belongs to Panama”

The Panama Government He categorically denied The concession of the channel operation to China and insists that it manages the channel fairly in all shipping.

Earlier on Thursday, Panama President Jose Raul He ruled out the possibility of discussing the channel’s control with Rubio when he visits the country. “The channel belongs to Panama”he told reporters.

Although the channel itself operates by Panama, the two ports are run by CK Hutchinson 0001.hk based in Hong Kong, while other nearby ports operate from private companies from the United States, Singapore and Taiwan.

US intends to address issues

Rubio did not repeat Trump’s promise to recapture the channel, but insisted that the US intended to address the issues raised by the president, saying that the current situation “It just can’t go on.”

“I would argue that the channel is already in the arms of Chinese”he said, expressing hope that the issue can be resolved soon.

Critics have accused Trump of modern imperialism in his threats to the channel as well as for Greenland, a semi -autonomous area of ​​Denmark, arguing that such a rhetoric could encourage Russia in its war in Ukraine and justify China if it decides Possible conflict.

Some analysts have questioned whether Trump is serious in pursuing what critics say they would be ‘Earth rapture’speculating that he can put an extreme negotiating position to get concessions later.