War Correspondent: China Likely Could Disable Panama Canal, But Not the Way You Might Think

PANAMA CITY, Panama—If China wanted to disable the Panama Canal to stop the flow of military or cargo ships through it, it likely could do so through an attack on the software system, military veteran and “Hot Zone” podcaster Chuck Holton says.  

Using a Chinese ship to physically block the canal could cause a temporary disruption, but a cyberattack would likely create a much more serious issue, according to Holton, a former U.S. Army Ranger-turned-war correspondent. 

If China were to “scrambled the software that is used to open and close the locks, or something like that, now you’ve got a bigger problem,” Holton said, adding that it is “very likely” China already has the ability to “scramble” the technology used to operate the Panama Canal. 

The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now

The “software that runs the canal, very likely, is also infected with Chinese hackers,” he said, and if China “wanted to damage or shut down the canal, they could probably do it from Beijing with a few keystrokes. They don’t have to have Chinese troops at the port and they don’t. They don’t need them.”

Holton, who serves as a foreign correspondent for Newsmax, lives in Panama and was part of the U.S. military invasion of Panama in 1989 to oust the nation’s corrupt dictator, Manuel Noriega.  

Standing in the square of Casco Viejo, Panama City’s historic district, Holton told The Daily Signal that China is actively working to gain influence in Panama, but “China is not running the canal.”  

During his inauguration speech on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump said, “China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China.  We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”  

But Panama President José Raúl Mulino denies China is operating the canal.  

Trump’s comments on the canal, coupled with a recent large canal port deal between an American-based company and a Hong Kong-based company, have called attention to China’s influence in the region.  

The Chinese government has been critical of a deal for a Hong Kong conglomerate, CK Hutchison, to sell ports in the Panama Canal to BlackRock, an American global asset manager. Trump has praised the deal, but CK Hutchison says the agreed-upon deal is “purely commercial” and has nothing to do with Trump’s recent comments on the canal.  

About 10,000 people work at the canal, the majority of whom, according to Holton, are Panamanian. The U.S. built the Panama Canal and operated it for decades, but in 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with Panama to begin the gradual transfer of the canal to Panama, with the complete transfer by the end of 1999.  

The canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and operates through a lock system, raising ships above sea level to connect to the Gatun Lake before lowering them back to sea level. On average, 36 to 38 ships pass through the canal each day, according to The Associated Press. About 70% of the ships passing through the canal are coming from or headed for the U.S., though the shipping companies themselves may not be American.  

U.S. military ships do use the canal, and in the event of a conflict with China, anything China “could do that would complicate the U.S. Navy’s ability to move troops and products … into or out of the war zone, obviously, that’s a strategic issue for the United States,” Holton said.  

For years, Holton explained, China has been growing its power in Panama through economic and political ties.  

Panama joined the Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese-led investment and infrastructure project, in 2017, but announced in February that it would not renew its participation in the Chinese project. 

China’s presence in Panama is not new, though political and economic ties are more recent. The first groups of Chinese arrived in Panama in the 1850s to help build the trans-Panama railroad. China’s influence is noticeable in the Latin nation through the presence of Chinese cultural centers, architecture, and Chinese-owned businesses. 

Holton says Panamanians know the nation has “a problem with Chinese influence, and it’s more with our government, it’s more with our economic system,” but, he added, the same cannot be said of the canal.  

Right now, the relationship between the U.S. and Panama is “confusing,” he said, because “Panama is an ally of the United States. Panamanians love Americans. They’ll say all the time that America’s our big brother … and so they’re a little befuddled by the president’s comments that seem very antithetical to, or negative toward, Panama.”  

The U.S. has a “long history of being a blessing to Panama,” Holton said, adding, “I don’t see why we need to change that now. That should be, the question is: How can we come and have a win-win situation with Panama and the United States? And there certainly is a path forward for that.”