Beijing: China on Monday accused Washington of conducting ‘smear campaigns’ against it as a pretext for exerting control over Latin America. This comes in response to statements from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who claimed that the Panama Canal is under ‘ongoing threats from China,’ as reported by state media.
According to Anadolu Agency, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian criticized the US accusations, describing them as ideologically biased and reminiscent of a cold war mentality. Lin labeled the claims as lies and fallacies and questioned the US’s motives in Latin America. He asked rhetorically who views the region as its ‘backyard’ and promotes a new Monroe Doctrine while allowing the flow of small arms into zones of peace.
Hegseth had contended that China’s military presence in the Western Hemisphere is excessive and argued that Panama should secure the Panama Canal with American, rather than Chinese, support. He suggested that China’s influence in the canal area threatens both Panamanian and American interests.
Lin countered by emphasizing that China-Latin America cooperation is a form of South-South collaboration grounded in mutual support without geopolitical aims. He asserted that China’s engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean is based on equality and mutual benefits, without seeking spheres of influence or targeting third parties.
The US defense chief’s statements were dismissed by Lin, who said that the repeated US smear campaigns against China and the exaggeration of the ‘China threat’ are merely excuses to control Latin America. Lin concluded that such rhetoric is destined to fail.
In a related development, President Donald Trump has claimed that China controls the Panama Canal and has vowed that the US will reclaim the waterway, citing its importance to national security. Notably, Panama has administered the canal since it was handed over by the US in 1999.