US conducts military exercises at Panama Canal

PANAMA CITY: The United States military teamed with Panamanian police to conduct a series of new exercises aimed at protecting the Panama Canal, amid tensions over alleged Chinese influence along the prized trade route.

To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday — two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook — landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base.

Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama’s National Aeronaval Service — known as SENAN — said the exercises would prepare Panama’s forces, as well as countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal.

US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a bilateral agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases.

The agreement sparked protests in the Central American country, and came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to reclaim the canal.

He has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade.

In April, Trump called for the free transit of American commercial and military ships through the inter-oceanic route, claiming the canal would “not exist” without the US.

But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the toll fees are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route.

US presence in Panama remains a sensitive issue, as it evokes a time when Washington had an enclave of military bases in the country before the canal was handed over to Panama on the last day of 1999.

SENAN officials said the US maneuvers will last until Friday and will respect “national sovereignty.”

Palacios said the exercise has been held for 23 years.