The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, is an important waterway for trade in the world.
The 51-mile long Panama Canal was built more than a hundred years ago with US funds.
Now its ownership and control is in the hands of the Panama government. US President Donald Trump said that this system should be changed.
He says that China is controlling the Panama Canal and the US had given this canal to the Panama government and not to China.
The US says that it will take over this canal because it can pose a threat to its security.
He also said that the Panama government is charging a very high fee from US companies for the use of this canal.
Trump has also kept the option of using force or economic pressure open to take back the Panama Canal.
People in Panama are enraged by Trump's statement, and many other countries are also shocked. The Panama government has said that there can be no compromise on the possession of the canal.
So this week in Duniya Jahaan, we will try to know how Panama can satisfy Trump?
What is the importance of the Panama Canal for America?
Will Freeman, researcher of Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Affairs, says that 75 percent of the ships that pass through the Panama Canal every year are from America. These ships are either coming from America or going there.
For this reason, the Panama Canal is very important for the American economy.
Will Freeman says that every year about four to eight percent of the world's total trade passes through the Panama Canal.
He says that ships bring and take food items, electronic goods, minerals, chemicals, oil, and gas through this canal.
That is, all kinds of goods move here. Most of the goods are sent from America to Asia.
The Panama Canal is also important for the American Navy. Since its construction in 1914, the movement of ships through the Panama Canal has been almost continuous.
However, in 1989, when the US Army entered the country to remove Panama's leader General Noriega, the canal was closed for a day.
What are the reasons for President Trump's concerns?
Now President Trump is saying that American industries are being cheated and overcharged.
Will Freeman says that the fee rate for using the canal has increased in the last few years, but one reason for this is the drought in Panama due to climate change.
He says that the cost of maintaining the reservoir that supplies water to the Panama Canal has increased. But this fee increase has not happened only for America but for ships of all countries.
The US President is not only angry with the increase in the fee rate for using the Panama Canal, but he also says that China is controlling the Panama Canal.
Will Freeman said, "The two ports located at the two ends of the Panama Canal have been leased by a Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison, and this company's Panama-based company, Panama Ports, looks after these ports. But it is not that this company is running the canal."
Is there any evidence of Panama's ties with China that frustrate Trump?
This port is not the only reason for President Trump's anger. During his first term, Panama was thinking of building a huge bridge over the Panama Canal in collaboration with a Chinese company, but the officials of the Trump government had stopped the Panama government from working on this plan.
Pointing to such incidents, the Trump administration is saying that the Panama government is violating the 1999 treaty regarding maintaining neutrality, under which the US had handed over the complete control of the Panama Canal to the Panama government.
Under this treaty, the US has the right to protect the canal and keep it open. On this basis, President Trump has kept the option of using force open in this matter.
Will Trump use force?
Will Freeman says it is unlikely that President Trump will use force because he wants the support of Latin American countries in his efforts to send illegal immigrants back to their countries from America, so he cannot take the risk of angering them.
