Security
US military trains at Panama Canal
As tensions over China's role in the Panama Canal grow, US military aircraft touch down in Panama for joint drills aimed at defending one of the world's most strategic trade routes.
US military aircraft and personnel arrive at the Teniente Octavio Rodriguez Garrido Air Base in Panama to conduct a series of joint exercises with Panamanian police to protect the Panama Canal amid tensions over Chinese influence along the prized trade route. [Mauricio Valenzuela/AFP]
By AFP and Entorno |
The United States military has partnered with Panamanian police for a series of new exercises, scheduled between July 13 and 18, aimed at protecting the Panama Canal amid growing tensions over Chinese influence along the strategic trade route.
To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on July 13 -- two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook -- landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base.
The exercises will prepare Panama's forces, as well as those of any other countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal, Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama's National Aeronaval Service -- known as SENAN -- said.
US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a Panamanian-US agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks via intercom with the captain of the COSCO vessel Shipping Rose as it waits at the first locks of the Panama Canal. Xi, accompanied by then-Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, visited the canal's expanded locks in December 2018. [Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AFP]](/gc4/images/2025/07/14/51150-xi_panama-600_384.webp)
The US maneuvers will last until July 18 and will respect "national sovereignty," said SENAN officials.
The exercise has taken place for 23 years, said Palacios.
China is accused of wielding outsized influence over the Panama Canal, a vital artery for global commerce that carries 5% of world trade and almost 40% of all US container traffic.