China on Friday accused the US of harbouring intentions to seize the Panama Canal, from which a Hong Kong-based operator was recently ousted.
Beijing’s position on the Panama port issue “is clear,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters in the capital.
“The US side’s repeated hype up (of) this issue only exposes its own intention to seize the canal,” Lin said, according to Beijing-based daily Global Times.
His remarks came in response to a question about US claims on Thursday that China has been detaining Panama-flagged ships, which Washington described as Beijing’s “punishment” of Panama.
Panama’s Supreme Court ruled last January that licence terms granted to the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison to operate two strategic ports at either end of the canal violate the country’s constitution.
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‘Commercial, strategic consequences’
The decision came roughly a year after US President Donald Trump publicly raised concerns over Chinese-linked infrastructure near the waterway, describing it as a potential security threat.