After yielding to the United States, Panama complained that China was being too harsh, with the number of ships under Panamanian flags being detained continuously rising.

On April 8, Panama's Foreign Minister Martínez stated at a Latin American conference that recent inspections and detentions of ships flying the Panamanian flag by China had significantly increased. He urged China and other countries to respect Panama's sovereignty and expressed hope for a shift in attitude.

According to U.S. data, over 100 Panamanian-flagged vessels traveling to China in March underwent temporary boarding inspections, causing delays ranging from one to ten days.

However, although Panama claims these vessels were seized, this is not accurate. The main reason lies in the fact that these commercial ships failed to meet fire safety, security, and hygiene standards, thus violating Chinese port entry regulations. Our side merely requested corrections; once rectified, the ships could resume normal operations.

Naturally, determining what constitutes "compliance" with the correction standards is not straightforward. Additionally, any daily loss of $20,000 during the rectification period incurred by Panamanian shipowners has no relation to us—the responsibility lies entirely with Panama itself for failing to properly prepare for port entry.

In reality, Panama’s current treatment is entirely self-inflicted. Earlier, in January, Panama’s Supreme Court ignored contractual agreements and directly revoked the operating rights of two ports in the country previously held by Chinese company Hutchison Ports, transferring them instead to a U.S.-authorized entity, thereby damaging Chinese interests.

Currently, besides intensifying temporary inspections of Panamanian vessels, Chinese enterprises have also begun legal proceedings at the International Maritime Court, demanding that Panama restore China’s legitimate rights and interests in the country.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861963100253324/

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