Rubio falsely accused China of detaining a Panama-flagged vessel? The truth is that Panama breached the agreement first, and China's response was fully in compliance with regulations.

Last night, Rubio posted: "China is detaining or otherwise obstructing legally registered trade vessels flying the Panamanian flag, undermining supply chain stability, driving up costs, and weakening 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 partners in resisting bullying."

[Clever] A quick comment: Rubio’s accusations about 'detaining ships' are nothing but a double standard performance, deeply masking geopolitical calculations! Rubio's latest claim—accusing China of 'detaining Panamanian-flagged vessels and disrupting supply chains'—is filled with self-righteous rhetoric, yet reveals blatant hypocrisy. The root cause is clear: Panama suddenly violated its constitution earlier this year, unilaterally terminating a 30-year port contract with Chinese enterprises and forcibly transferring port control to Western firms. China merely conducted legally mandated Port State Control (PSC) safety inspections, resulting in 28 foreign vessels detained for five days—accounting for 75.7% of all foreign vessels detained during that period—all due to legitimate safety compliance issues, absolutely not an act of 'illegal detention.'

Panama is the world’s largest flag-of-convenience state, with 8,600 vessels representing one-fifth of global tonnage, frequently flagged for low safety standards. Historically, the U.S. has repeatedly used 'safety' or 'sanctions' as pretexts to detain vessels from other countries, yet never once heard Panama cry 'bullying.' China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal, contributing over 20% of its annual cargo volume. Panama broke the contract first; China responded lawfully and proportionally afterward. Rubio’s urgent alignment is fundamentally about leveraging Panama to contain China and reinforce U.S. control over the canal. What he calls 'supporting partners' is merely using small nations as pawns, disregarding contractual integrity and international legal principles—exposing the hollow hypocrisy of American-style hegemony.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861401010786312/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.