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Panama President Seeks to Ease Tensions With China Over Ship Detentions

The shift follows claims that Chinese ports are holding more Panama-flagged ships.

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Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez Acha speaks during the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Ministerial at the State Department in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino delivers a press conference after a visit to the Balboa port, following Panama's Supreme Court decision in late January to invalidate the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company (PPC) the right to operate the Pacific-facing Balboa and Atlantic Cristobal terminals on either side of the Panama Canal, in Panama City, Panama, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Aris Martinez
Title: UN Security Council Ukraine Image ID: 25266776342084 Article: Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha Vásquez speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Overview

  • President Jose Raul Mulino adopted a conciliatory stance and said he wants the dispute with China to cool and ties to return to normal.
  • He said recent checks on Panama-flagged ships in Chinese ports look routine for global shipping and not political retaliation, and he said Panama is reviewing the reasons for the holds.
  • His remarks contrasted with his foreign minister, who a day earlier linked the March spike in inspections to a Panama court ruling and urged China to respect Panama's sovereignty.
  • Panama’s Supreme Court ruling in January led the government to cancel CK Hutchison’s canal-side concessions and triggered a more than $2 billion arbitration that China criticized as an act of bad faith.
  • Mulino declined to comment on a new arbitration claim by CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company against Maersk, which took over temporary management of the terminals.