Donroe Doctrine is becoming everything China feared
The U.S. State Department issued a joint statement with several Latin American nations in support of Panama amid detentions of Panama-flagged vessels at Chinese ports, framing it as a defense of maritime trade. This move follows U.S.-backed legal actions that led to the removal of a Chinese port operator from the Panama Canal and its replacement with a Danish firm. The alignment of countries like Bolivia and Guyana reflects broader U.S. strategic interests in energy, logistics, and countering Chinese influence in the region.
- ▪The U.S. and several Latin American countries issued a joint statement supporting Panama after China detained Panama-flagged vessels, calling it a politicization of maritime trade.
- ▪American and Panamanian officials previously used legal measures to remove Chinese operator CK Hutchinson from ports at the Panama Canal, replacing it with a subsidiary of Danish firm Maersk.
- ▪Bolivia, despite being landlocked, joined the statement as part of a strategic move to align with U.S. interests and secure access to logistics infrastructure for exporting its vast lithium reserves.
- ▪Guyana and Trinidad are key energy producers, with Guyana emerging as a major crude oil exporter benefiting from U.S. actions in the Persian Gulf.
- ▪The U.S. is simultaneously blockading crude oil flows in the Persian Gulf and pressuring Chinese logistics networks in the Caribbean through diplomatic and legal means.
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On April 28, the State Department issued a joint statement “in solidarity with Panama” in response to an uptick in detentions of Panama-flagged vessels at Chinese ports, which it characterized as “a blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade.” This comes on the heels of a targeted lawfare campaign by American and Panamanian officials to dispossess Chinese logistics infrastructure at the Balboa and Cristobal terminals, and within a broader maritime context that has seen the US blockade the Strait of Hormuz, enter a defense partnership with Indonesia and put out aggressive statements about Peru’s Port of Chancay. The co-signatories on the statement include Costa Rica, Bolivia (more on that later), Paraguay, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
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