巴拿馬運河真的如特朗普所說由中國「運營」嗎？ （1/2）

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

(Source: BBC)

Does China 'operate' Panama Canal, as Trump says? (1/2)

Shawn Yuan 22.1.25

Global China Unit, BBC World Service

During his inaugural address, President Donald Trump doubled down on his assertion that China runs the Panama Canal.

"China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we're taking it back," he said.

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the Central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Up to 14,000 ships use it each year as a shortcut to a journey which, before the canal was built, would have taken them on a lengthy and costly trip around the tip of South America.

What has Trump said about the canal?

The mention of Panama in his inaugural speech is not the first time he has focused on the Central American nation and its transoceanic canal.

On Christmas Day, Trump posted on social media that the "wonderful soldiers of China" were "lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal" - a claim which was swiftly denied by officials in Panama City and Beijing.

At the time, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino described the claim as "nonsense", stressing that there was "absolutely no Chinese interference" in the canal.

Trump has also threatened to take the canal back by force, citing "exorbitant" fees being allegedly charged for US vessels to pass through it - another claim rejected by Panamanian authorities.

Following Trump's inauguration address, President Mulino again stressed that there was "no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration" of the Panama Canal.

The strategic waterway, which handles about 5% of global maritime trade volume, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government, not Chinese soldiers.

However, Mr Trump's inaccurate claim reflects the concerns of some US officials over China's significant investments in the canal and its surrounding infrastructure.

What is the history of Panama Canal?

Historically, the US played a pivotal role in the construction and administration of the passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

After a failed attempt by the French to build it, the US secured the rights to undertake the project. The canal's construction was completed in 1914.

It remained under US control until 1977, when then President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty to gradually hand it over to Panama, which Trump has referred to as "foolish".

Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has held exclusive control over the operations of the waterway.

The treaties signed by both the US and Panama stipulated that it shall remain permanently neutral, but the US reserves the right to defend any threat to the canal's neutrality using military force under this deal.

(to be continued)

Translation

巴拿馬運河真的如特朗普所說由中國「運營」嗎？ （1/2）

總統特朗普在就職演說中再次強調，中國在管理巴拿馬運河。

他說： “中國運營着巴拿馬運河，我們沒有把它交給中國。我們把它交給了巴拿馬，現在我們要把它拿回來。”

長 51 英里（82 公里）的巴拿馬運河穿越中美洲國家，是大西洋和太平洋之間的主要通道。

每年有多達 14,000 艘船通過這條運河作為捷徑，而在運河建造之前，這些船隻則需要繞行南美洲末端，路線漫長且費用昂貴。

 

特朗普對運河有何評論？

他在就職演說中提到巴拿馬, 這並不是他第一次關注這個中美洲國家及其跨洋運河。

聖誕節當天，特朗普在社群媒體上發文稱，「出色的中國軍人」正在「充滿愛心但非法地運營巴拿馬運河」- 但這說法很快就遭到巴拿馬城和北京官員的否認。

當時，巴拿馬總統穆利諾 (José Raúl Mulino) 稱這一說法 “一派胡言” ，並強調 “絕對沒有中國干涉” 運河。

特朗普也威脅要以武力收回運河，稱它向通過運河美國船隻收取「高昂」的費用 - 這一說法也遭到巴拿馬當局的否認。

在特朗普就職演說後，穆利諾總統再次強調，「世界上沒有任何國家干涉我們對巴拿馬運河的管理」。

這條戰略水道負責處理全球約5%的海上貿易量，由巴拿馬政府下屬機構巴拿馬運河管理局,而並非中國士兵管理。

然而，特朗普的不實言論反映了一些美國官員對中國在運河及其周邊基礎設施上進行大量投資的擔憂。

巴拿馬運河有什麼歷史？

歷史上，美國在這條連接大西洋和太平洋的通道的建設和管理發揮了關鍵作用。

在法國人建造該橋失敗後，美國獲得了接手該計劃的權利。該運河於1914年建成。

該島一直處於美國的控制之下，直到1977年，時任總統卡特簽署條約，將其逐步移交給巴拿馬，特朗普稱此舉「愚蠢」。

自1999年以來，巴拿馬運河管理局對該水道的運作擁有獨家控制權。

美國與巴拿馬簽署的條約規定，巴拿馬將保持永久中立，但根據該協議，美國保留使用軍事力量防禦任何對運河中立性的威脅的權利。

（待續）