LatinNews Daily - 24 June 2026

*Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha has called on China to “respect [Panama’s] constitution” amid a clash with China’s ambassador to the US and its permanent observer to the Organization of American States (OAS) Xie Feng, at the OAS’ 56^th General Assembly which Panama is hosting from 22-24 June. Panama-China relations have been particularly strained following a January 2026 Panamanian supreme court (CSJ) ruling which struck down a concession for two ports on the Panama Canal that had been awarded to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-headquartered CK Hutchison Holdings, prompting the latter to launch arbitration proceedings, including against the Panamanian government. Speaking yesterday, Xie said the CSJ ruling was “politically driven”, warning “if contracts could be disregarded, market principles ignored, assets taken over and operators forced out at any time, who would have the confidence to invest and seek cooperation?”. He went on to urge Panama to “again to correct its mistakes and protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses”. Martínez-Acha defended the ruling saying that “the renewal of the contract did not comply with [Panama’s] requirements” and called for “respect” from China. He also reiterated previous complaints that the number of Panama-flagged vessels detained by China has significantly increased since the CSJ ruling – an issue addressed by Xie who said that “regrettably, since the start of 2026, Panama-flagged ships have been involved in several consecutive collisions between merchant or fishing vessels in Chinese waters, resulting in a number of people killed and missing”. Xie went on to say that “out of a sense of responsibility for maritime safety, including the safety of vessels and especially personnel, China has conducted port state control inspections on incoming vessels in accordance with Chinese laws and international conventions, which do not target any specific country or flag and are fully legitimate”.

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