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We are still days away from Donald Trump's inauguration, yet the president-elect is already making progress on one of the most important foreign policy matters facing the United States: the future of the Panama Canal and, more broadly, the future of the Western Hemisphere.
In recent weeks, Trump has expressed interest in securing U.S. control of the Panama Canal, along with Greenland. Both have strategic economic and defense benefits for our country. The president's interest, specifically in the Panama Canal, is welcome news.
For years, I have called attention to China's and Russia's growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. A February 2024 report from the Atlantic Council put it this way: "China and Russia operate and influence in a myriad of ways, but the core of their influence is through covert and overt strategies to undermine the US position in the region and to shape the foreign policy preferences in Latin America and the Caribbean."
China's military positioning and economic influence are part of its broader Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure and economic development plan involving nearly two dozen Latin American and Caribbean countries. Russia is also a member of Belt and Road. Through the initiative, China has leveraged its economic power to advance its military interests in our backyard.
This influence includes the Panama Canal. During his hour-long news conference on Tuesday regarding the canal, Trump stated that "China's basically taken it over. China's at both ends of the Panama Canal. China's running the Panama Canal."
U.S. military officials have previously shared similar concerns.
"I was just in Panama about a month ago and flying along the Panama Canal and looking at all the state-owned enterprises from the [People's Republic of China] on each side of the Panama Canal," said General Laura Richardson, then-head of the U.S. Southern Command, in July 2022 at the Aspen Security Forum. "They look like civilian companies or state-owned enterprises that could be used for dual use and could be quickly changed over to a military capability."
Although Panamanian government leaders and officials who oversee the canal have refuted Trump's claims, the warning signs cannot be ignored. In 2018, Panama became the first Latin American country to sign on to the Belt and Road initiative.
What's more, China now has the world's largest navy, "operating 234 warships to the U.S. Navy's 219," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
All of this underscores the importance of the Panama Canal. The United States built the canal over 100 years ago to expand and ease international travel and trade. Its 51 miles dramatically reduce shipping times and costs between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It's a game changer for businesses and consumers alike.
In 1977, under President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. handed over control of the canal. Following a period of joint American-Panamanian control, Panama fully took control in 1999. Today, about 40 percent of U.S. container shipping runs through the canal.
President-elect Trump's suggestion to reclaim the Panama Canal is part of a larger conversation we must have—and one he is already guiding—about reasserting American dominance not just at home, but also abroad. He is right to jumpstart the conversation with a focus on the canal. The waterway is a key piece of Belt and Road expansion in Latin America. China, a top American adversary, is in a position to control the canal that we built.
Critics have dismissed Trump's proposal to reclaim the Panama Canal, lumping it together with his recent statements about Greenland and Canada as unnecessary expansionism. I believe that dismissal is misguided. China is unapologetically expanding. When it comes to the canal, Mr. Trump, even before taking office, is putting America first on the global stage.
History can often serve as a guide for what is to come. Presidents before us worked to combat foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere. Issued in the early 19th century by President James Monroe, the Monroe Doctrine established that a foreign state's intervention in the political affairs of the Americas was potentially a hostile act against the United States.
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt built upon Monroe's policy with what is known as the Roosevelt Corollary. Under the Corollary, the United States could directly intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries if they did not do enough to prevent European aggression.
Now, we are reaching another crossroads in American history. We must recognize the challenges posed by China and the significance of the Panama Canal to the United States. Perhaps someday, our children and grandchildren will learn how the "Trump Doctrine" combatted foreign influence and preserved the American way of life.
U.S. Representative Mike Kelly is a Republican representing Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District. He currently serves as a member of the U.S.-China Working Group and as the Chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
