{"id":14190,"date":"2026-06-24T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=14190"},"modified":"2026-06-24T08:22:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:22:44","slug":"panama-fires-back-at-china-after-heated-port-confrontation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panama-fires-back-at-china-after-heated-port-confrontation\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Fires Back at China After Heated Port Confrontation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panama\u2019s Foreign Minister Javier Mart\u00ednez-Acha directly challenged China\u2019s ambassador during a heated exchange at the Organization of American States (OEA) assembly on Tuesday. The diplomatic confrontation took place at the 56th plenary session in Panama City. At the center of the dispute lies a Panama Supreme Court ruling on port concession<\/a> that voided a contract with a Chinese-owned firm.<\/p>\n

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng raised concerns about Panama\u2019s maritime policies during the session. He claimed that inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in Chinese waters are standard safety procedures. \u201cSince the start of 2026, Panama has been involved in accidents in Chinese waters and five people have disappeared. For maritime safety and the safety of people, China conducts inspections in accordance with international conventions, without targeting a specific flag or country,\u201d Feng stated. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

Feng lamented the Panama Ports Company<\/a> contract ruling by the Supreme Court. That decision declared the concession for the Balboa and Crist\u00f3bal ports unconstitutional. The company is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson Holding Limited. Feng urged Panama to protect Chinese business interests during his address to the assembly.<\/p>\n

\"ministry
ministry of foreign affairs by china embassy in panama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panama Stands Firm on Constitutional Separation of Powers<\/h2>\n

Minister Mart\u00ednez-Acha delivered a sharp rebuttal to the Chinese ambassador. He invited Feng to read Panama\u2019s Constitution after the OEA session ends. The foreign minister clarified what he called \u201cinaccurate\u201d points raised by China during the diplomatic meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy country, my government and my president respect our Constitution much more,\u201d Mart\u00ednez-Acha emphasized. [Translated from Spanish] He explained that the Supreme Court ruling was clear. The port concession renewal failed to meet the requirements set by Panama.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legal controversy began with the previous government. I must clarify that the Supreme Court has a clear majority of magistrates appointed by previous administrations. Your representatives in my country do not understand Panama\u2019s democratic system. They asked me several times to interfere with a decision of a separate branch of power to reverse a ruling. The only thing my government can do is obey it.\u201d \u2014 Javier Mart\u00ednez-Acha, Panama Foreign Minister [Translated from Spanish]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Panama values its relationship with China, the minister said. But he insisted that any differences must be resolved on equal terms. \u201cYou have sovereignty in your ports to conduct inspections and detentions. But this audience should know that those inspections and detentions do not occur in those numbers in your ports, nor in ports near your country, nor in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam or the Philippines. The number and increase are substantially higher than what existed before the Supreme Court ruling,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n

\"panama
panama and china flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panama Refuses Superpower Rivalry Role<\/h2>\n

The foreign minister made Panama\u2019s position unmistakably clear. The country does not want to enter a superpower rivalry scenario. Panama\u2019s foreign policy remains independent and respectful of all nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy president has constitutional validation to defend Panama\u2019s interests, just as you defend your country\u2019s interests. I invite you to de-escalate. I invite you to speak respectfully. But I invite you to respect my Constitution as I respect yours,\u201d Mart\u00ednez-Acha told the Chinese ambassador. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

The exchange occurred during the Organization of American States (OAS)<\/a> general assembly in Panama. President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino earlier brought the maritime conflict before the international body. He demanded an immediate end to vessel detentions in Chinese waters.<\/p>\n

Panama\u2019s Supreme Court<\/a> ruling on the port concession remains a flashpoint in bilateral relations. The decision affects operations at two of Panama\u2019s most strategic ports. Both nations now face a delicate diplomatic path forward following this public confrontation at the OEA assembly.<\/p>\n

\"OEA
OEA logo and rainbow flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama\u2019s Foreign Minister Javier Mart\u00ednez-Acha directly challenged China\u2019s ambassador during a heated exchange at the Organization of American States (OEA) assembly on Tuesday. The diplomatic confrontation took place at the 56th plenary session in Panama City. At the center of the dispute lies a Panama Supreme Court ruling on port concession that voided a contract<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,28],"tags":[4976,4975,4977],"class_list":["post-14190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","category-business-economy","category-news","tag-oea-assembly","tag-panama-minister-rebukes-china","tag-panama-port-dispute","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14191,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14190\/revisions\/14191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}