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When, in the final days of 2024 – less than a month before taking office as US president – Donald Trump declared that the US should retake control of the Panama Canal, it provoked mixed reactions around the world. On the one hand, the Panamanian authorities, of course, with appropriate seriousness rejected any thought of such a thing, while, on the other hand, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev commented on the idea in a humorous manner.
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However, it should be clear to everyone here that this is not a mere Trump exhibition or a “test bubble”, but rather an announcement of a preventive move by the US to timely curb China’s growing influence in Latin America.
Why did Trump talk about “returning” the Panama Canal, and not “taking” it or “placing” it under American control?
Namely, with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which later grew into a consistent concept summarized in the motto “America for the Americans”, the United States decided to stop the transatlantic influence of European powers. This applied both to their colonial conquests or mutual seizure of possessions, and to interference in the internal affairs of the United States.
Seen through the new lens of Hollywood film propaganda, its symbol is the “American Marines.” In order to achieve dominance in the World Ocean, it was necessary, first of all, to establish control over “bottlenecks” (sea lanes) and to break through narrow natural obstacles along key waterways. Therefore, the United States followed the example of Great Britain, which, by digging the Suez Canal, conquered the land connection between Asia and Africa and thus established the “Great Imperial Road” from the Atlantic through the Mediterranean and Red Seas to the Indian Ocean.
If they wanted to be the greatest power in the world – and they did – the Americans knew that as a prerequisite they had to start digging the Isthmus of Panama as a Pan-American land link. So they had to build a strategically important canal in order to shorten the time and distance of navigation between the Atlantic and the Pacific and avoid the risky navigation of South America around Cape Horn, that is, through the Strait of Magellan.
The idea of digging a canal appeared in the minds of the Spanish conquerors as early as the early 16th century, but work only began in 1881. Being in the focus of interest of the USA, and since the then Colombia did not accept the terms of future use, the US organized a rebellion and secession of Panama in 1903. They recognized the new state only three days after the declaration of independence, and two weeks later signed a treaty. Nothing new on the globe to this day.
Although the treaty was revised several times, its main points were that Panama, under whose sovereignty the canal was located, gave it and a narrow strip on either side to the management of the United States. Both countries undertook to ensure the security of the canal, but all actual responsibility was assumed by the Americans. In return, they were allowed to station their military forces in Panama.
Later, the canal was given the status of neutrality in peace and war, which meant that it remained open to the peaceful passage of military and civilian ships of all countries without discrimination.
The first ship passed through the canal three decades after construction began – in 1914 – while the official opening to traffic was only in 1920. The canal is 81.6 kilometers long, 91.5 to 350 meters wide and 14 meters deep. It has been reconstructed, deepened and technically modernized several times. Compared to the route around South America, the waterway has been shortened by about 12,680 kilometers. The United States is still the main user of the canal today and accounts for two-thirds of the total cargo transported through it.
The Americans returned the canal to Panama under a 1977 treaty (which came into force in 1979), but the country agreed that the United States would continue to manage it until December 31, 1999. The agreement was signed by the then presidents of Panama, Omar Torrijos, and the United States, Jimmy Carter.
Coincidentally or not, it is certainly indicative: the aforementioned statement by incoming US President Donald Trump about the need for the Americans to regain control of the Panama Canal coincides with the death, just a few days later, of former US President Jimmy Carter, the signatory to its return to Panama.
Let us start from realism as an option/school in American foreign policy, or rather geopolitics, to which Trump is believed to be committed. Also, let us start from a rational, reasoned assessment that the “unipolar moment” has passed and that the world has come a long way on the path to multipolarization. This means that the US should insist, as Brzezinski said, that from “global domination” it must keep with “global leadership”. This is exactly what Trump is trying to do, this is precisely the goal of insisting on the Panama Canal and Greenland.
Therefore, the Trump administration, observing trends and planning for the long term, will strive to ensure unchallenged control over both the North and South American continents as its “backyard”, where more and more countries are establishing strategic cooperation with China. And this goal cannot be achieved without controlling the Panamanian “buckle”.
The point is clear, the integration of the potential pan-American sphere of interest of the US from Ellesmere Island in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south is ensured by the Panama Canal, and its integrity is also made possible by Canada and Greenland. That is why Trump insists on them so much, and thereby sends a clear message to the Chinese that he will not allow their dominance and that Washington will not retreat due to Chinese expansionism. On the contrary, he is letting everyone know that Biden’s wrong policy is over.
Trump’s policy towards the Panama Canal, Greenland and Canada is in fact a message to China that its aggressive expansionism will not be quietly observed by the new American administration. For Trump, quite logically, the huge armament of the Chinese army and especially the Chinese navy is a sign of alarm. He wisely understands that the Chinese are arming themselves because they want to take over global domination in the world.
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