Seeking reset, Hegseth affirms Panama’s sovereignty over canal

PANAMA CITY — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sought to reassure Panama that the United States recognizes its sovereignty over the national canal, amid President Donald Trump’s repeated pledge that America would reclaim it.

“We certainly respect the sovereignty of the Panamanians,” Hegseth said before departing the country back to Washington.

Earlier Wednesday, Hegseth faced questions in a press conference about the two countries’ joint statement following their meetings Tuesday. Panama’s version included a line about its sovereignty over the canal; America’s didn’t, though it discussed working through Panama’s constitution, which affirms authority over the canal itself.

The impasse brought back concern that the U.S. was reneging on its agreement ceding the canal to Panamanian control, finalized in 1999 after a 20-year handover.

Trump has disparaged that deal and said multiple times that America would take the canal back — even saying in a March address to Congress that the U.S. was already “reclaiming” the waterway.

Panama’s President Raul Mulino publicly denied the claims and referred to them as an insult on the country’s dignity.

Hegseth’s visit this week worked to calm any such tension. In carefully planned remarks, he referenced Panama’s value as a partner and its long history with the U.S., including on building the canal in the early 1900s. He also signed agreements to increase America’s military work with the country through further training and rotating in more U.S. forces and equipment.

“He acknowledged the sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal,” Frank Abrego, Panama’s minister of public security, said of Hegseth at the press conference.

Speaking to traveling press on the flight back to Washington, senior defense officials didn’t specify how many further American troops would enter the country, nor give a timeline for their arrival. They also didn’t elaborate on plans Hegseth previewed to renew Fort Sherman, the U.S. military’s now-abandoned jungle fighting school in the country.

Any further dispatch of U.S. troops to Panama would first require consensus with Panama’s government, said one of the defense officials, allowed to speak anonymously to describe the agreement.

In return, Panama’s government expressed interest in American help protecting the canal from cyberattacks and surveilling it.

The U.S. once had a large military presence inside Panama, though it was drawn down heavily during the canal handover. The number of American troops in the country now rises and falls from a few dozen to a couple hundred, depending on exercises and training programs.

In late 1989, America’s military launched a two-month operation to depose Panama’s then-President Manuel Noriega. The invasion has left scars for many in the country today, wary of U.S. coercion and, perhaps, another attack.

“There’s extraordinary sensitivities at hand,” the first defense official said, noting that any suggestion — by China or America — of infringing on Panama’s sovereignty over the canal is a “non-starter” in the country.

At the same time, the officials said, the Trump administration is increasingly concerned about the drift of Panama, and Latin America as a whole, toward what it calls “China’s malign influence.”

China’s government has vastly expanded its trade and investment relationship with the region, including through the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure program American officials say includes predatory lending practices.

On the trip, Hegseth added a clause to Trump’s pledge to take the canal back, soothing concerns that the U.S. military was developing plans to seize the waterway, reported by multiple outlets in March.

“Together, we are going to take back the canal from China’s influence,” Hegseth said.

Mulino pulled Panama from the Belt and Road Initiative this February, the same month U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made an earlier visit to the country. Hegseth mentioned his respect for Mulino’s leadership multiple times on the trip, and the secretary’s team described the president as a long-term partner.

The Trump administration has said the U.S. will focus more intently on Latin America, including through the American military, which surged troops and warships for immigration missions since January.

In turn, Hegseth repeatedly called the Panama Canal “key terrain” and affirmed America’s commitment to maintain its access to it — repeated in the two countries’ joint statement.

Around 40% of U.S. container traffic passes through the Panama Canal each year alongside about 100 American Navy vessels, a number that would surely increase if a war began in the Pacific.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

巴拿马城——在唐纳德·特朗普总统一再承诺美国将收回国家运河之际，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯试图向巴拿马保证，美国承认巴拿马对国家运河的主权。

“我们当然尊重巴拿马人民的主权，”赫格塞斯在离开巴拿马返回华盛顿前说道。

周三早些时候，赫格塞斯在新闻发布会上被问及两国周二会晤后发表的联合声明。巴拿马的声明中包含了关于其对运河主权的表述；美国的声明则没有，尽管其中提到了通过巴拿马宪法解决问题，而巴拿马宪法也确认了其对运河本身的主权。

这一僵局再次引发了人们的担忧，即美国正在违背其在 1999 年达成的将运河移交给巴拿马控制的协议，该协议是在经过 20 年的移交后最终敲定的。

特朗普贬低了这项协议，并多次表示美国将收回运河——甚至在 3 月份对国会发表讲话时表示，美国已经在“收回”这条水道。

巴拿马总统劳尔·穆利诺公开否认了这些指控，并称其是对国家尊严的侮辱。

赫格塞斯本周的访问有助于缓和任何此类紧张局势。他在精心准备的讲话中，提及巴拿马作为合作伙伴的价值以及其与美国悠久的历史渊源，包括20世纪初共同修建运河。他还签署了多项协议，旨在通过进一步的训练以及轮换部署更多美军部队和装备，加强美国与巴拿马的军事合作。

“他承认巴拿马对巴拿马运河拥有主权，”巴拿马公共安全部长弗兰克·阿布雷戈在新闻发布会上谈到赫格塞斯时说道。

在返回华盛顿的航班上，高级国防官员在接受随行记者采访时，既没有具体说明将有多少美军士兵进入该国，也没有给出抵达时间表。他们也没有详细说明赫格塞斯此前透露的重启谢尔曼堡的计划。谢尔曼堡是美军在该国一处现已废弃的丛林作战学校。

一位获准匿名透露协议内容的国防官员表示，任何进一步向巴拿马派遣美军的计划，首先都需要与巴拿马政府达成共识。

作为回报，巴拿马政府表示有兴趣获得美国的帮助，以保护运河免受网络攻击并对其进行监控。

美国曾经在巴拿马境内驻扎大量军队，但在运河移交过程中大幅削减了兵力。如今，驻巴拿马美军人数根据演习和训练计划的不同，在几十人到几百人之间波动。

1989年末，美国军方发动了一场为期两个月的军事行动，推翻了时任巴拿马总统曼努埃尔·诺列加。这场入侵给巴拿马许多人留下了难以磨灭的伤痕，使他们至今仍对美国的胁迫以及可能再次遭受的袭击保持警惕。

“目前情况非常敏感，”这位国防官员表示，并指出，无论是中国还是美国，任何侵犯巴拿马运河主权的提议在该国都是“行不通的”。

与此同时，官员们表示，特朗普政府越来越担心巴拿马乃至整个拉丁美洲正滑向其所谓的“中国的恶意影响”。

中国政府已大幅扩大与该地区的贸易和投资关系，包括通过“一带一路”倡议——一项全球基础设施计划——但美国官员称该计划包含掠夺性贷款行为。

在这次访问中，赫格塞斯在特朗普收回运河的承诺中增加了一项条款，以缓解人们对美国军方正在制定计划夺取这条水道的担忧，此前多家媒体在 3 月份报道了这一消息。

“我们将共同努力，从中国手中夺回运河的控制权，”赫格塞斯说。

今年二月，穆利诺宣布巴拿马退出“一带一路”倡议，而就在同一个月，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥也访问了巴拿马。赫格塞斯在访问期间多次表达了对穆利诺领导能力的敬意，国务卿团队也称穆利诺总统是他们的长期合作伙伴。

特朗普政府表示，美国将更加关注拉丁美洲，包括通过美国军队，自1月份以来，美国已向拉丁美洲增派军队和军舰执行移民任务。

赫格塞斯则反复称巴拿马运河为“关键地带”，并重申美国致力于维护其对该运河的通行权——两国在联合声明中也重申了这一点。

每年约有 40% 的美国集装箱运输通过巴拿马运河，同时还有大约 100 艘美国海军舰艇通行。如果太平洋战争爆发，这个数字肯定会增加。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。