Hegseth announces an agreement with Panama to guarantee free and priority passage of warships through the canal

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that officials from both the United States and Panama are set to sign a "macro" agreement allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal "first and free"—a move that could mark the beginning of the end of the diplomatic impasse between the two countries in recent months.

Hegseth told reporters in the Caribbean country that the agreement is part of a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation signed by the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino. He added that a final document would soon be completed, guaranteeing U.S. auxiliary and warships not only exemption from canal tolls but also priority passage.

Hegseth also stated that the Chinese regime’s military presence in the Western Hemisphere is excessively large. "China’s military has an outsized presence in the Western Hemisphere. They operate military facilities and ground stations that extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China’s global military ambitions. China’s factory fishing fleets are stealing food from our nations and our people," he said, while emphasizing that a war with China is not inevitable.

Countering China's influence

Earlier in the day, Hegseth announced that the United States and Panama will establish an expanded partnership to secure the Panama Canal and counter the Chinese regime's "malign influence" in the region. "The era of capitulating to coercion by the communist Chinese is over. China’s growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot—and will not—stand," Hegseth declared during prepared remarks.

In response to Hegseth’s statements in the Caribbean country, the Chinese embassy in Panama issued a statement saying that, "the United States has undertaken a sensationalist campaign about the 'theoretical Chinese threat' in an attempt to sabotage Sino-Panamanian cooperation, which is clearly motivated by U.S. geopolitical self-interest."