Opinion | Why Panama, why China, why now?
By Philip Yeung
Trump is having the time of his life. It's fun when there is no mother or god to see that your bottom is wiped or your nose cleaned. With no official title, except "president-elect", Trump wields supernatural power to topple leaders and change the map. This has never happened in human history. Trump talks and things happen. Certified as a mental case, but now certified as an elected president, he has other world leaders trembling in their boots with mere words. The first to tremble is Panama, until now not even in the margins of our mind.
Suddenly, it is front and center in our consciousness, the focus of the hemisphere, if not of humanity.
Little Panama is suddenly big news, east and west, because Trump needs a big build-up to his coronation on 20 January. He needs a big splash as a prelude to his presidency. Little minnow Panama is perfect as a pawn in his geopolitical chess game. The mere threat of another invasion gives Trump an instant aura of imperial power that cows and conquers all. The bigger the noise, the more awe-filled the upcoming ceremony. Free to rant and rave, Trump is hooked on spectacles. This time, there are no personal consequences to him, only shattered egos for others. A category-5 hurricane swirling out of control, Trump wakes up in the morning looking at the world map. By noon, his mood darkens. By afternoon, the twister is swirling and sucking in the debris. The world stands open-mouthed, helpless, as it watches the swathe of destruction.
This time, what comes out of Trump's mouth is not bluster, it is TNT dynamite. Before, Trump was taken to court numerous times for libel and defamation. Now, he is above the law, above morality, above God himself.
He is crazy. But there is method in his madness. Why does he pick Panama? Because, being tiny, it is a push-over. George H. Bush had invaded Panama before, snatching and kidnapping its maximum leader Manuel Noriega as a drug cartel boss. The poor man is rotting in jail with a 40-year sentence in a maximum-security facility. This time, Trump only has to wag his little finger, and Panama will be cowering before him. This is America's international order for you.
Still, Trump needs an excuse to dress up his extra-legal scheme. Simple. Just throw China into the mix. China never fails as the bogey to raise fear of a threat to national security. It so happens that CK Hutchinson Holdings, a Hong Kong-based multinational corporation owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, has a stake in the Panama Ports Company and operates two ports at either end of the canal, in which Li's company holds a 25-year concession. This is the fodder Trump needs. Full of falsehood, Trump posted this unchristian message: "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal."
At this point, another mad dog joins the bark, the infamous China-hater, Gordon H. Chang. He chimes in: "It's true there are no uniformed People's Liberation Army soldiers now stationed in the Canal Zone…almost certainly there are Chinese operatives and military personnel in civilian garb there." He goes on to claim, fact-free, that the "Panama Canal is a chokepoint that Beijing seeks to control---and undoubtedly close off—in the moments before the next global war." With a huge leap in logic from the civilian operation of canal ports to covert military control of these facilities to war. He is an agent provocateur masquerading as an analyst. His overactive evil imagination conjures up the worst possible scenario such as "the Chinese ramming a bridge or a canal lock" to disable the canal operations. From there it is a short jump to the conclusion that "the US Navy, in anticipation of a war in East Asia, would use the canal to move ships and submarines from the Atlantic to the Pacific." He follows with a dire warning that an incident in the waterway could be an early indication…that China intended to use force on the other side of the world. His wishful thinking: "Consequently, the next global war might start with an "accident" in Panama. The US therefore must make a preemptive move to seize control of the canal."
Just like that, war with China becomes an ugly reality. Every word from his pen drips with venom and ill-will against China. He is a warmonger with a pen who wishes he was holding a nuclear bomb. Trump is his unholy godfather. This time, Satan has a little yellow helper who is ashamed of his roots.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
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