House Oversight panel launches probe into China's influence in Panama

The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday launched a probe into China's influence in Panama.

Committee Chairman James Comer sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday, requesting that he hold a briefing by Oct. 1 to address how the Transportation Department "plans to counter Chinese influence in Panama and ensure the security and neutrality of the canal is maintained."

"The Panama Canal hosts approximately 40 percent of the United States container traffic, which accounts for roughly $240 billion annually in trade," Comer continued. "Panama maintains a policy of neutrality regarding the canal, a result of the treaty signed that turned ownership from the United States to Panama."

However, there are two ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal owned and operated by a Hong Kong shipping corporation, Hutchison, the chairman added. The corporation's "ports have repeatedly been implicated in the smuggling of fentanyl precursors into the Americas, and its owner, Li Ka-Shing, is a member of Chinese organized crime syndicates that work to advance the interests of the CCP in the west," he wrote.

While Hutchison announced in March that it would sell its 90% share in the ports, the Chinese Communist Party "expressed fury at the sale, and while initially stating they would block it, China has now instead resorted to watching the sale closely to ensure the company operating the ports is not American," Comer said.

In the briefing, Comer wants Duffy to address the Transportation Department's role in countering China's influence in the canal and "ensuring American companies have opportunities to invest in Panamanian infrastructure in processes that will be free of corruption."

Comer also asked, "In the event the neutrality treaty is broken, under what authorities can the Department of Transportation assume operation of the canal, and if so, how quickly?"