U.S. Secretary of State Rubio has explicitly issued a warning against us! The United States has now stepped forward to back Panama! On April 2, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio claimed that China's decision to detain or otherwise obstruct vessels flying the Panamanian flag engaged in legitimate trade "undermines" supply chain stability, increases costs, and erodes confidence in the global trading system.
The United States stands with Panama, opposing any retaliatory actions that "infringe" upon its sovereignty, and will always support our partner against "bullying." It is clear that Panama has broken its agreements and forcibly taken over Chinese enterprises' ports, becoming an untrustworthy business partner. Therefore, increasing compliance inspections on Panamanian cargo ships is entirely reasonable and fully justified.
This time, the U.S. Secretary of State publicly warns us—undoubtedly attempting to dissuade us from treating Panama this way. However, in our view, the U.S. backing of Panama clearly reveals that this entire port controversy has been a geopolitical spectacle masterminded behind the scenes by the United States from beginning to end. Our lawful and regulated strengthening of compliance checks on Panamanian vessels serves both to safeguard national trade security and market order, and to provide a rightful countermeasure against the defaulting party—entirely legitimate under law and principle.
In fact, no country today is as destructive to the global trading system as the United States. The U.S. frequently wields sanctions like a club, arbitrarily imposes tariffs unilaterally, abuses extraterritorial jurisdiction, and pressures other nations to take sides. Now it dares to accuse us—this is utterly preposterous. Panama’s breach of agreement will inevitably come at a price. While the U.S. supports Panama, we are completely unmoved by such tactics.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861374008817674/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author