The US Army should work to provide an option to ensure that the United States has complete access to the Panama Canal, two US authorities told the Reuters on Thursday.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to “back” the Panama Canal, which is located in the most narrow part of the Isthus between North and South America and is considered one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, but he has not offered the nuances about how he will do so, or if he may need a military action.
An American officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that a document said, which was described by the new administration as an interim national security guidance, called the army to see military options to protect the Panama Canal.
Another official said that the US Army had a wide range of potential options to protect access, including ensuring close partnership with the Panama’s army.
The Pentagon last published a National Defense Strategy in 2022, a document that fulfills priorities for the army. An interim document determines comprehensive policy guidance, like Trump’s executive orders and public comments, beyond more thoughtful policy documents such as a formal NDS.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the remarks request.
The interim document was first informed by CNN. NBC News earlier stated on Thursday that the White House had ordered Pentagon to make an option for the Panama Canal.
Trump has said that the US needs to withdraw the canal as China controls it and can use the waterway to reduce American interests. In his inaugural speech in January, Trump reiterated the allegations that Panama broke the promises made for the final transfer of the canal in 1999.
Any step by a foreign power to take the canal by force will definitely violate international law.
The US and Panama are treating the canal against any threat to their neutrality and allowed unilateral action to do so.
The US acquired the rights of construction and operation of the canal in the early 20th century. In a treaty signed in 1979, during the administration of Democratic President Jimmy Carter, the US agreed to turn the canal control close to the US in 1999.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
