WASHINGTON, April 27 — President Donald Trump is demanding free passage for US ships through the Panama and Suez Canals, reported German news agency dpa.
“American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
“Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America. I’ve asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialise, this situation!”
Trump had recently received an important concession in his demand for more US influence over the Panama Canal. Under an agreement with Panama, the US will be allowed to station soldiers around the important waterway alongside Panamanian forces to help secure the canal’s sovereignty.
Panama and the US had previously announced that they were negotiating an agreement to secure free and priority passage through the Panama Canal for US warships.
Trump has bluntly stated on several occasions that the US should have checks on the important waterway, claims that his Panamanian counterpart, José Raúl Mulino, has firmly rejected.
The Panama Canal was built by the US in the early 20th century, but the sovereignty over the canal zone was fully returned to Panama at the end of 1999.
The Suez Canal has since its opening in 1869 connected the Mediterranean and Red seas and provided the shortest shipping route between Asia and Europe. The waterway is one of the most important trade routes in the world and is one of Egypt’s main sources of income.
Its construction began in 1859 under the direction of French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps. Tens of thousands of Egyptian workers toiled under brutal conditions for 10 years until its completion.
