China’s growing presence in America’s backyard could grant the communist country access to Florida’s coast, coinciding with a dramatic rise in Chinese national border encounters.
The Caribbean region, also known as “America’s third border” due to its proximity to the U.S., has been financially backed by China in maritime logistics and infrastructure projects in recent years.
“I think the Chinese are trying to gain influence in a region which is very close to the American homeland,” Gordon G. Chang, an author and expert on U.S.-China relations
Chang pointed to the $3.4-billion Freeport Container port project in the Bahamas, just 87 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida.
A report from the House Foreign Affairs Committee found that China invested over $10 billion in six Caribbean countries between 2005 and 2022.
The Panama Canal and Chinese Influence
During his inauguration speech, President Donald Trump repeated his desire to retake control of the Panama Canal, the vital strategic waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“Above all, 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,” Trump said in his inaugural address.
The U.S. controlled it from its 1914 completion until 1999, when it was handed over to Panama under the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties. The treaties permit the U.S. military to preserve the canal’s neutrality, allowing the U.S. to perpetually use the canal.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE BILL TO REPURCHASE PANAMA CANAL AFTER TRUMP RAISES CONCERNS OF CHINESE CONTROL
Chinese companies have invested heavily in ports and terminals near the canal. A Hong Kong-based company runs two of the five ports close to its entrances.
“This is going to take some time because China didn’t take over the Canal Zone with soldiers, they took it over with people in business attire with large checkbooks and suitcases of cash,” he said. “And the United States needs to come in with cash of its own to drive the Chinese out of the Canal Zone and Panama.”
As evidence, Chang pointed to Secretary of State Rubio’s trip to Panama as his first foreign trip as America’s top diplomat.
“I think that that shows that President Trump’s foreign policy, at least initially, will be focused on North and South America,” he said. “This is the first time in more than a century that an American president has given his primary principle focus to countries closest to the United States.”
