PANAMA INFORMATION

PANAMA INFORMATION

5/25/98 Edward Oliver, WorldNetDaily 

 

"A Panamanian presidential candidate has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate China's activities around the canal and the possibility of a quid pro quo between the Clinton administration and the Asian Communist power. Concerned about possible executive branch complicity in China's gatekeeper status at the Panama Canal, Panamanian presidential candidate William Bright Marine wrote to the Justice Department May 4: "I have yet to speak to one single American who is not outraged at the fact that the Clinton administration has allowed Communist China to obtain control of U.S. ports, U.S. bases, and functions of the Panama Canal. They today, effectively control access to the Panama Canal ... this agreement could not have happened, without the consent of the Clinton administration ... the executive branch has been copied by my correspondence regarding communist China dating back to late 1996. They cannot claim ignorance." The Justice Department has not yet responded.."
WoldNetdaily William Bright Marine 8/24/98 "Just when you thought Panamanian politics could not get more bizarre the media in Panama is reporting, and the government has confirmed that President Balladares has hired James Carville. Carville is being funded by Mayor Alfredo Aleman. a major player in drug laundering and the money man for President Balladares campaign. President Balladares is trying to change Panama's Constitution so he can run for office again. The required plebiscite is to be held on August 30 this year. The latest polls show that President Balladares is trailing 51% to 31% with 18% undecided.."
Baltimore Sun 9/23/98 Robert Little "The handover of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government next year could mean higher shipping costs and decreased access to Asian markets for East Coast ports, including Baltimore, a member of the federal commission appointed to study the canal said yesterday. C. Thomas Burke, appointed by President Bush to the Panama Canal Study Commission in 1990, said American inaction in Panama has helped foreign interests in China and Korea build alliances with the Panamanians. As a result, he predicted, when the canal changes hands on Dec. 31, 1999, it will be managed by a government beholden to nations with icy relationships in the West. "If we're not careful, we could be turning over the canal to a country that could possibly be an enemy of the United States," Burke said in a speech before the Baltimore Propeller Club, a group of local maritime industry executives. "I didn't want to bring you an encouraging speech here, I wanted to alarm you -- I want you to be frightened by this."."
The Brazosport Facts 12-10-98 Col. Otis C. Taylor, Ret. -- WWII Veteran ".A very important chapter of American history will soon come to a close. The Panama Canal, a monument to American "know-how," will come under the control of Communist China in the year 2000. Not only will our government's "Most Favored Nation" control the Panama Canal, but also the U.S. Army and Navy military installations within the Canal Zone. The American Legion Magazine (Oct. 1998) gave a good account of how China managed this. In recent bidding for future control of the canal, and associated security installations, the U.S. was the highest bidder. After all the bids were received, the Panamanian president changed the rules of bidding and allowed Communist China to submit a second bid. China's second bid exceeded the U.S. bid. the Panamanian newspaper, El Siglio, reported that "China was allowed to submit a second bid after bucketloads of money arrived from Asia....."
Washington Times 1/11/99 Tom Carter ".It was military need that prompted the United States to begin building the Panama Canal in 1903. But that need no longer exists, according to the men and women responsible for defending the United States at home and abroad. The national security interest kept U.S. troops on the ground in Panama for almost 100 years. But less than a year before the canal is due to be handed over to Panama at noon on Dec. 31, American military officials have concluded that changes in the world --ranging from new technology to the end of the Cold War -- mean it is no longer needed to protect the American way of life. "There is nothing absolutely vital here in Panama in terms of regional or geographical importance," said Lt. Col. Byron Conover, spokesman for U.S. Army South. "It is disappointing that we lose the ability to launch certain kinds of missions out of here, but from a military perspective, there is nothing vital here.".."
Indianapolis Star 2/22/99 Editorial "…A significant point in the issue of a missile defense is not being widely discussed. It is the threat of a hostile Red China and its potential for not necessarily launching long-range missiles from the mainland but for staging intermediate-range missiles from Panama. Yes, Panama, say a number of retired United States military officers. They are concerned that when the U.S. moves out of the Panama Canal Zone at the end of this year, the Communist Chinese will move in. Indeed, China has been quietly positioning itself to control both ends of the canal, according to the National Security Center, a defense issue think tank. The honorary chairman of its retired officer's advisory board is retired Admiral Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The NSC says that intense research and investigation has confirmed that "Red China has in fact emerged as the 'gatekeeper' of the Panama Canal. " The NSC reports: "In March of 1997 Hutchison Whampoa - a Hong Kong based business whose owner is a close ally of Red China - took over operation of key ports at the Panama Canal. These ports were turned over to Hutchison Whampoa even though American and other companies submitted better bids. "This contract gave Hutchison Whampoa certain 'rights' that could eventually give them and their Red Chinese ally complete control over the Panama Canal when the U.S. completes its phased withdrawal in 1999. " While all this may sound alarmist to those who recognize Hutchison Whampoa as a big player in the Asian business world, the details of its Panama deal are profoundly chilling. Those details are reported in a new NSC published book written by its president, Richard A. Delgaudio, and titled Peril in Panama - China as the Gatekeeper of the Panama Canal Threatens a New Missile Crisis…."
In a May 4 1998 Panamanian Presidential candidate William Bright Marine wrote about the ".fact that the Clinton administration has allowed Communist China to obtain control of U.S. ports, U.S. bases, and functions of the Panama Canal." Law #5 grants Hutchinson-Whampoa Ltd: responsibility for hiring new pilots, control over critical Atlantic/Pacific anchorages, authority to control the order of ships and to deny ships access if they are interfering with Hutchinson's business, right to unilaterally transfer its rights to a third party, right make certain public roads private. In law #5, if there is a conflict between the law and the provisions of the Canal treaty, the treaty prevails. In the deal, Hutchinson gets U.S. Naval Station Rodman; a portion of U.S. Air Station Albrook; Diablo; Balboa (Pacific); Cristobal (Atlantic); the Island of Telfers, a future home of the Chinese planned export zone. Hutchinson is controlled by Chinese communists - Hutchinson's subsidiary HIT, or Panama Ports Company has business ventures with COSCO (Chinese army owned) and is 10% owned by China Resources Enterprise. Lippo is also connected to CRE. At the time Hutchinson obtained the Panama Canal ports, it moved to gain Subic Bay in the Philippines in the wake of U.S. departure.
WorldTribune.com 3/1/99 Robert Morton "…But does anyone really care about the Panama Canal? No one, it would seem, except Communist China's Military Industrial Complex, otherwise know as the People's Liberation Army (PLA). If the United States does not consider the canal a strategic asset, the surviving communist superpower apparently does. In a deal reported by this newspaper on March 19, 1997, the Clintonesque government of Panama in effect sold the Chinese rights to two prime, American-built port facilities which flank the canal zone both to the east and the west. The 50-year contract awarded Balboa, on the Pacific side, and Cristobal, on the Atlantic side, to a giant Hong Kong shipping firm, Hutchison Whampoa, Ltd. By any analysis this company, headed by Li Kashing is an interesting operation: · Hutchison has worked closely with the China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO) on shipping deals in Asia even before Hong Kong reverted to Beijing's control in 1997. COSCO, you may remember, is the PLA-controlled company that almost succeeded in gaining control of the abandoned naval station at Long Beach California…."
WorldTribune.com 3/1/99 Robert Morton "…Li Kashing has served on the board of directors of China International Trust and Investment Corp., a PLA-affiliated giant run by Wang Jun whose name may ring a bell. Yes, the very same Wang Jun enjoyed coffee at the White House in exchange for a modest donation to the Clinton-Gore 1996 slush fund….Shortly after President Clinton announced the departure of the U.S. military from Panama, the Bank of China extended a 15-year, $120 million loan to Panama at a 3 percent interest rate. Nice. This was during the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, incidentally, when boatloads of Chinese money were also making their way into the coffers of the Democratic Party. And the DNC chairman that year was Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd who along with Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, Robert Pastor, supports the turnover as passionately now as they did in 1977…."
WorldTribune.com 3/1/99 Robert Morton "…Well, if the White House was for sale, why not the Panama Canal? The fine print in the China-Panama deal should outrage any competent commander in chief. Panama's Law No. 5 was a secret provision, passed by the legislative assembly on Jan. 16, 1997 that may have violated both the 1977 Panama Canal treaties and the Panamanian constitution. Among other things Law No. 5 provided Hutchison Whampoa: · "First option" to take over the U.S. Rodman naval station; ·"Rights" to operate piloting and tug boat services for the canal and private roads near the two ports; · Authority in the words of Adm. Moorer's testimony "to deny ships access to the ports and entrances of the canal if they are deemed to be interfering with Hutchison's business – in direct violation of the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty which guarantees expeditious passage for the United States Navy."…"
Conservative News Service 3/8/99 Lawrence Morahan "…[Admiral] Moorer predicted in 1978, the year after President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with the Central American country giving control of the canal to Panama at the end of the century, that a U.S. withdrawal would occasion a dangerous vacuum that would possibly be filled by Soviet interests. Two decades later, in June 1998, Moorer testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that his worst fears had been realized. The left-leaning government of Panama sold controlling rights of the American-built port facilities that flank the canal zone on the east and the west. The 50-year contract awarded Balboa on the Pacific, and Cristobal on the Atlantic, to Hong Kong shipping conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. The company has close links to the China Ocean Shipping Co., which is controlled by the People's Liberation Army of China. Moorer, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander of both the Pacific and Atlantic fleets, contends the communist Chinese surreptitiously gained a stronghold on the Panama Canal. "My specific concern is that this company is controlled by the communist Chinese," Moorer said. "And they have virtually accomplished, without a single shot being fired, a stronghold on the Panama Canal, something which took our country so many years to accomplish."…"
Reuters 3/12/99 Michael Winfrey "…The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Panama enters a final stage Thursday as the symbolic handover of Rodman Naval Base marks the twilight of a controversial military presence lasting almost a century. Panama's President Ernesto Perez Balladares and the commander of the U.S. North Atlantic Navy Fleet, Adm. Paul Reason, will attend a ceremony at which control of Rodman will be symbolically transferred to the Panamanians. The full handover of the base will be completed by April 30, a U.S. Army official said. Under a 1977 treaty signed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late Panamanian Gen. Omar Torrijos, the United States must pull out all of its troops from Panama and hand over the Canal and all other facilities to the Panamanian government by noon on Dec. 31, 1999. ``The pace of the transfer is quickening in general,'' said U.S. Army spokesman Col. Byron Connover. ``We begin moving in earnest at the end of May. By June we'll be deactivating units, and by July all of the personnel's families will have left Panama.'' …"
http://www.ConservativeNews.org 4/9/99 Lawrence Morahan "..."While people are focusing on Serbia, they are overlooking massive corruption involving our relationship with communist China, including the turnover of crucially important security assets in the isthmus of Panama, creating a vacuum that communist China is filling," Howard Phillips, president of the Conservative Caucus, told CNS. .... "The foreign and military policies of the United States should be geared to the defense of our country, and they're not," Phillips said. "While we're inappropriately using resources in Serbia, we are surrendering the major battle of World War III by abandoning our strategic position in the isthmus of Panama to the Chinese.".... "
THE NEW AMERICAN Freeper report dated 4/11/99 Admiral Thomas H. Moorer "... Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, who has served America as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Chief of Naval Operations, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a genuine American legend...Admiral Moorer serves as honorary chairman of U.S. Defense-American Victory, a private educational group dedicated to America's defense and national security..... Rear Admiral C. A. "Mark" Hill began his naval career in World War II as a lieutenant on the U.S.S. Ray, one of the most decorated submarines of the war..... Admirals Moorer and Hill were interviewed by senior editor William F. Jasper at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, DC on February 10th, as the U.S. Senate began final deliberations in the impeachment trial of President Clinton…."
THE NEW AMERICAN Freeper report dated 4/11/99 Admiral Thomas H. Moorer"…Q. ... Aren't there a number of very serious concerns involved with this matter [Panama] that are being ignored by the Clinton Administration, Congress, and the media? Adm. Moorer. Yes, one of the issues which we have been addressing lately that has been completely ignored by just about everybody is the fact that the Red Chinese are poised to effectively take control of the Panama Canal. As your magazine pointed out very well in your issue on Chinagate, the Clinton Administration, in numerous ways, has been helping China build its military forces into a formidable, modern threat that can challenge our interests around the world. But the Panama Canal is very close to home and is one of our most vital commercial and military assets. In 1996, while China was illegally pouring millions of dollars into Clinton's re-election effort, it was also funneling huge amounts of cash to Panamanian politicians to ensure that one of its front companies, Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong, could move in when we vacate. In 1997, Panama secretly turned over the American-built port facility at Balboa, which controls shipping on the Pacific side, and at Cristobal, which controls shipping on the Atlantic side, to Hutchison. Over the next several months we are scheduled to turn over Rodman Naval Station, Howard Air Force Base, and other important military facilities to Panama, which has given Hutchison an option on these bases. This means that very soon we could see Communist China in control of one of the world's most strategic waterways in our own backyard. President Clinton may say that they are our friends and allies, but the Chinese military and Communist Party literature refer to the United States as "the main enemy." And despite what President Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and the media may tell you about "reform" in China, it is still run by a brutal, totalitarian, Communist regime that will do us harm if and when it thinks it can get the better of us....."
THE NEW AMERICAN Freeper report dated 4/11/99 Admiral Thomas H. Moorer "... Q. Americans, unfortunately, are woefully ignorant of world geography in general and of geo-strategic maritime choke points in particular. Why is an appreciation of this so vitally important? Adm. Moorer. Admiral Hill put his finger on the key word: logistics, the critical factor in any military operation. You cannot unload a division of troops ashore without having a steady stream of food, ammunition, uniforms, fuel, medical supplies, etc. The Air Force, for example, has the bulky problem of fuel - massive quantities of fuel - if it is going to have sustained operations. The fuel demand is tremendous when you have bombers, fighters, transports, and helicopters. You can't fly fuel into a foreign base in adequate amounts to fulfill their requirements. When you talk about moving logistic support by airlift you're talking about ounces; when you talk about logistic support that actually takes place with ships, you're dealing in tons. That's why the flexibility of movement of the maritime forces from ocean to ocean has been vital to the success of our strategy. And that's why it is vital to our survival to recognize when a hostile nation maneuvers to gain strategic dominance of these sea lanes. Unlike most other countries, we haven't been invaded and destroyed, and haven't had full-scale combat here on our own soil for over 100 years. One reason for this is that we are a maritime power....."
4/17/99 F.R. Duplantier "..."Communist China is the greatest emerging threat to United States security," observes retired Coast Guard Captain G. Russell Evans. "It has the largest army in the world, may soon have the second largest economy, and is rapidly building up its navy and air force." Evans is alarmed that "the Clinton administration has allowed allies of Red China . . . to take over the Canal ports and possibly secure other critical military facilities at the Panama Canal, only 900 miles from the United States!" ....Evans also warns that "Red Chinese J-11 attack jets, if launched from air facilities in Panama, could strike the mainland United States. Each J-11 can drop over 13,000 pounds of bombs," he observes, "and China will have over 100 J-11s in the next few years. This is the potential should Red China muscle into U.S. air bases in Panama," Evans explains. He adds that "Communist China will also have a critical base for its warships in our backyard with the Balboa and Cristobal ports." ...Captain Evans bemoans "the complete lack of interest in the United States government to protect its national security and treaty rights. There is a disturbing neglect of security matters in the Clinton administration," he charges, "in refusing to move to protect our clear and vital interests in Panama and in refusing to assert American rights spelled out in the Panama treaties." Evans urges Congress to "act immediately to halt the Communist Chinese infiltration into the Panama Canal and reassert American security interests in this vital waterway." Congress should also investigate the impact of foreign campaign contributions on the administration's policy of either ignoring or actively facilitating these potential threats to our national security...."
House Subcommittee Hearing 5/05/99 Bob Barr Freeper newsman ".... "The Clinton Administration has ignored the importance of Panama to American interests despite involving the U.S. military in record numbers of conflicts around the world. I encourage the President to reverse this situation by beginning a serious dialogue about this issue," Barr concluded, noting that we have a unique opportunity to move a dialogue forward with the new President-elect, Mireya Moscoso....."
Xinhua via NewsEdge Corporation 5/18/99 Freeper Thanatos "…U.S. ambassador to Panama Simon Ferro Tuesday delivered two patrol ships to the Panamanian authorities to reinforce the maritime borders of the country. "These boats are not a present from the United States to Panama, it is an investment," Ferro said. Ferro, a lawyer of Cuban origin, was designated this year as the White House representative in Panama, and has the mission of overseeing the total withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Panama and the handover of the Panama Canal on December 31…."
http://www.usia.gov 5/28/99 USIA Freeper Thanatos "...About 500 additional U.S. military personnel have been withdrawn from the Panama Canal, as the United States prepares to transfer control of the 81 kilometer-long waterway to Panama on December 31...."
WorldNetDaily 10/19/98 Edward G. Oliver ".Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, USN (Ret.), a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in closed session last summer that the U.S. is heading toward a confrontation with China over the Panama Canal, according to testimony obtained by WorldNetDaily. "I'm an old sailor now, but I know trouble when I see it, and Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this committee, I see big trouble in Panama -- trouble that could evolve quickly into a conflict in our own hemisphere with world-wide implications," said Moorer. "Mr. Chairman, I speak of the transfer of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government under the circumstances which now exist. There's far more going on there than meets the eye.".."Mr. Chairman, I have been honored to serve as this nation's commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet; commander in chief, Atlantic and Atlantic Fleet; chief of naval operations, and chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff," said Moorer. "I truly can't remember a time when I have been more concerned about the security of our country. ..." …"
WorldNetDaily 10/19/98 Edward G. Oliver "….Moorer pointed out that Panama Ports Company (PPC) controls four of Panama's major ports. He identified PPC's principal owners as: Billionaire Li Ka-Shing (reportedly an ally "as close as lips and teeth" to Beijing, which offered Ka-Shing the governorship of Hong Kong ); Li Ka-Shing owns PPC's parent company, Hutchinson-Whampoa Ltd., China Resources Enterprise, an arm of the Chinese government identified as an "agent of espionage" by Sen. Fred Thompson. The entity is also a solid partner with the Lippo Group, owned by the Riady family of Indonesia, also identified as possible espionage agents for the People's Liberation Army. He also pointed out that the deal granting sweeping concessions to Hutchinson-Whampoa states that the company has the right to pilot all ships through the canal, raising the specter of the Chinese piloting U.S. Navy ships -- or refusing to -- after the U.S. hands over complete control next year. Moorer attacked as illegal Panama's "Law #5," which permits other military forces, defense sites and installations in the canal zone and raised concerns about infiltration of Panama again by drug lords. In contrast to the indifference displayed by the State Department about Hutchinson's grip on the canal ports, the admiral expressed grave concern before the committee. "Hutchinson-Whampoa controls countless ports around the world," he said.
WorldNetDaily 10/19/98 Edward G. Oliver "…."My specific concern is that this company is controlled by the Communist Chinese. They have virtually accomplished, without a single shot being fired, a stronghold on the Panama Canal, something which took our country so many years to accomplish -- the building and control of the Panama Canal, along with military and commercial access in our own hemisphere...Moorer expressed frustration with the Clinton administration's approach to national security as the date Dec.31, 1999, nears -- the date the U.S. relinquishes the last vestiges of control over the canal..He continued: "We are not talking here about an ill- funded Nicaraguan effort against the Communists in the late '80s; we are talking about the control of a strategic part of the world in our hemisphere, shortly to be controlled by the largest country on earth, Communist China, financially flush and people-strong with a growing imbalance of men over women. ... I can tell you honestly and truthfully, with strong conviction, that somebody needs to take a long, hard look at our vulnerability in the Panama Canal Zone."."
www.lakesregion.com [Current News Forum] CJ Barr 3/5/99 "…Call this a hunch. China has, for some time now, been quite busily moving its pieces around the board. Some of the moves make complete sense in a classical, theoretical way. It is, for example, entirely clear why an Asian power would like to position itself to be able to temporarily control access to the Panama Canal. Or why China, a major land power, would want to extend its power seaward. Or why they would want to deploy their own nuclear deterrent. But what if these moves are of more than theoretical significance? What if, as suggested by the mainland's smuggling of major amounts of explosives onto Taiwan, they are preparing for an actual military move against that island? It is quite possible that conditions will propel them into such a move within the next two years. American forces are spread thin. Significant assets are bogged down in the Persian Gulf and in various Serbia-related missions. Korea is showing signs of boiling over. Russia is unstable and, increasingly, hostile to America's foreign policy goals…In many ways, Clinton has been the ideal American president for China's ambitions. He has been open to their attempts at bribery. He has tolerated China's weapons transfers to areas that might later serve as diversions. He has helped Chica modernize its forces. He has allowed American readiness to collapse while recklessly deploying her forces on humanitarian and peacekeeping missions all over the globe. He has shown himself to be a weak and vacillating negotiator. And his administration has been reluctant to follow through with threats or act decisively -- except against foes powerless to resist…"
China Times 6/27/99 CAN "...US Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has introduced a House resolution prohibiting US assistance to Panama if a defense site or military installation built or formerly operated by the United States is provided by the Panamanian government to any foreign government-owned entity. A US congressional delegation that recently toured Central America in anticipation of the handover of the Panama Canal at the end of this year concluded in its report that mainland Chinese dominance of the Panama Canal zone represents a threat to US security. The US-Panama Security act of 1999, introduced by Hunter on June 16, was referred for consideration to the House Committees on International Relations, Banking and Financial Services, Armed Forces, and Intelligence. Hunter noted that a recent grant to Hutchison Whampoa, a Hong Kong firm with ties to the Beijing government, of management control of the Panamanian ports at either end of the Panama Canal has raised the specter of the expansion of mainland Chinese political influence in Panama, a situation aggravated by unanswered questions concerning the methods used by the Hong Kong firm to win its bid. The resolution requires the US president to submit to the Congress a report explaining how Hutchison Whampoa was selected to receive a grant for management control of the Panamanian ports at either end of the Panama Canal, and whether or not the US government had any knowledge of ties between the Hong Kong firm and the Beijing regime. The bill also requires the secretary of defense to report to the Congress on the extent to which such control by Hutchison Whampoa poses a threat to the security of the United States, and how the US strategic interests with respect to the Panama Canal will continue to be protected after its handover to Panama....."
Softwar.net Charles Smith 6/23/99 "...The Panama Canal, one of the world's key strategic waterways, is scheduled to be turned over to the Panamanian government on December 31, 1999. The Canal remains vital to American trade and defense capabilities. The Canal remains the vital sea link in the Western Hemisphere between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and an economic and logistical bridgehead between North America and South America. Currently, some 15 to 20 percent of total U.S. exports/imports pass through the Canal, including some 40% of all grain exports. It is also a vulnerable "front-line" state against the spread of narcotics and terrorism that plague its South American neighbors. Ironically, the day that the delegation arrived in Panama, a week after the closure of the U.S. counter-narcotics center at Howard Air Base, heavily-armed Colombian narco-terrorist forces operating on Panamanian soil, dressed in full combat gear, were interviewed on national television. ....... The People's Republic of China, through the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. company, which has close ties to the PRC government and People's Liberation Army (PLA), was granted a 25-year lease, with an additional 25 year option, for control of the Canals Atlantic and Pacific Ocean ports of Balboa and Cristobal and adjacent facilities. The delegation witnessed Hutchison Whampoa conducting major construction and port facility expansion at both the Atlantic and Pacific Canal ports. Hutchison Whampoa will control the stevedoring [loading and unloading of ship cargo] at the ports. The company also has a substantial interest in the railroad line that coordinates transportation of cargo between the ports. In addition, the Chinese company is a major bidder on construction of a new suspension bridge that will link "land canal" highways that will truck oversized cargo containers between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts...."
AFP 6/22/99 "... Panama is defenseless against attacks by Colombian rebels and Washington should do everything it can to help Panama beef up its security forces, a top US general and a senator said Tuesday. Months ahead of a US troop pullout from the Central American nation as a century-old Panama Canal treaty draws to a close, Republican Senator Paul Coverdell and Commander in Chief of US Southern Command, General Charles Wilhelm, said they were concerned with Panama's vulnerability. "As our forces withdraw in compliance with the treaties," Wilhelm told a Senate panel, "I have concerns about the ability of local security forces to deal with the security challenges that confront Panama." "The Panamanian Public Forces are neither organized nor equipped to deal with incursions by Colombian insurgents into the Darien and San Blas provinces," Wilhelm told a hearing of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee....Panama's Defense Forces were disbanded after the United States invaded Panama in 1994 to arrest military strongman Manuel Noriega. Currently, the country only has a National Police force that lacks military capabilities. Last week, the Colombian army said leftist rebels were crossing the border into Panama to escape their military pursuers...."
Stratfor.com Global Intelligence Center 6/23/99 "... 2230 GMT, 990623 Panama/U.S. - Panamanian Foreign Minister Jorge Ritter reacted sharply to comments made yesterday by U.S. Southern Command Chief Gen. Charles Wilhelm who warned the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. troops from Panama is creating a security threat to Panama. Wilhelm said the absence of U.S. troops in Panama will leave the nation open to Colombian rebels and drug runners, posing a potential threat to the security of the Panama Canal. Ritter responded by saying that Panama did not need U.S. troops to protect its borders. "Never have the U.S. military forces been here to guard our borders, and they have even less to do with the security of Panama," Ritter told reporters. "Nor do they have anything to do with the security of the canal." Ritter charged, "The growth of drugs in Panama did not begin with the withdrawal of U.S. troops, but instead... grew while there were military bases in Panama."...."

http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/08-02-99/vo15no16_canal.htm Thomas Moorer 8/2/99 "…In reality, if we allow this suicidal course to continue, we will be transferring our strategic canal not to Panama, but to whichever power moves in to fill the vacuum. And there is no longer any cause to wonder which power that will be. Over the past several years, the People’s Republic of China has made unmistakably clear its designs upon the Panama Canal. In fact, it has already moved in and begun to take control of this critically important asset….. Over the past year, the American people began to get a glimpse of the enormity and gravity of the multitude of ongoing Clinton scandals known collectively as "Chinagate." However, Clinton’s allies in the media have been only too willing to help the White House divert attention from these serious matters…..As injurious as the many Chinagate treacheries have been to our nation’s security, the impending surrender of our Panama Canal is more serious still…..In warfare, time means lives, and that much time can mean the difference between defeat and victory. The Panama Canal has played a crucial role in World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and many other conflicts…."

http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/08-02-99/vo15no16_canal.htm Thomas Moorer 8/2/99 "…On January 28th of this year, Fidel Castro’s Radio Havana reported that "Cuba and Panama signed at the Panamanian capital an agreement for the promotion and protection of investments in the two countries, as well as a basic cooperation agreement between the two governments. …. Castro has pulled every string available to aid Red China and to sabotage their opponents and competitors. The Chinese Communists have been allowed to order the Panama Canal Commission out of their ports, thus creating large zones into which anything, including armaments, could be shipped in sealed containers without monitoring or inspection. Such sealed containers could contain missiles with nuclear warheads that could be easily launched to reach targets within the continental United States. It was not so long ago that Chinese officials warned that U.S. intervention in any PRC-Taiwan conflict could result in the nuclear vaporization of Los Angeles. With a missile base in Panama, China would be in a good position to carry out such a threat, or to blackmail us into submission….."

AP 7/7/99 "…Panama's president demanded Wednesday that the United States clear out the remains of explosives at military bases being handed over along with the Panama Canal by the end of the year. ``I advise the United States that its responsibility to clean up does not end with the handover and it should respond by indemnifying people who end up injured,'' Ernesto Perez Balladares said in a speech. The United States last week turned over one of the areas used for war exercises and target practice. Two others remain…."
The Center For Security Policy 7/2/99 "…On 23 June, Hutchison USA announced its investment of $957 million into the combined telecommunications company of Voicestream Wireless and Omnipoint. Hutchison is already the largest shareholder in Voicestream, owning 24% of the company and its latest investment will increase its ownership to 30% of the newly merged conglomerate….Hutchison USA is a division of the large Hong Kong business conglomerate, Hutchison Whampoa, whose business ventures include real estate, port ownership in Asia, Europe and Panama, retail and manufacturing, and telecommunications and energy projects. Owned largely by billionaire Li Ka-shing, the company has recently initiated an extensive overseas acquisition strategy. Among other companies, Li is also the principal owner of the Panama Ports Company and China Resources Enterprise which collectively control four major ports at the eastern and western entry points to the Panama Canal. In a recent hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on U.S. interests in the Panama Canal, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Thomas H. Moorer (USN, Ret.) raised an alarm over Hutchison's role -- and that of the Chinese government -- in Panama.
The Center For Security Policy 7/2/99 "…As Adm. Moorer put it: ...There's far more going on [in Panama] then meets the eye. A company called Panama Ports Company, S.A., affiliated with Hutchinson Whampoa, Ltd. through its owner, Mr. Li Ka-Shing, currently maintains control of four of the Panama Canal's major ports. Now, Panama Port Company is 10 percent owned by China Resources Enterprise, the commercial arm of China's Ministry of Trade and Economic Cooperation….. In their best-selling book, Year of the Rat, Edward Timperlake and William C. Triplett III claimed that China Resources "had previously been identified as an associate of Chinese military intelligence." The authors also identified ties between Li Ka-shing and known arms-smuggler Wang Jun, head of Polytechnologies, an enterprise closely associated with the People's Liberation Army.,,,, The Senate [Government Reform] Committee...revealed that Hutchison Whampoa's subsidiary, HIT, has business ventures with the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), which is owned by the People's Liberation Army. COSCO has been criticized for shipping Chinese missiles, missile components, jet fighters and other weapons technologies to nations such as Libya, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. In 1996, the U.S. Customs Service seized a shipment of 2,000 automatic weapons aboard a COSCO ship at the port of Oakland, California. The man identified as the arms dealer, Wang Jun, is the head of China's Polytechnologies Company, the international outlet for Chinese weapons sales. Jun also sits on the Board of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC),(1) the chief investment arm of the Chinese central government. It is also the bank of the People's Liberation Army, providing financing for Chinese Army weapons sales and for the purchase of Western technology. Jun's fellow CITIC Board member is Mr. Li Ka-shing, chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd…."
The Center For Security Policy 7/2/99 "…Li Ka-shing has profound ties to the Beijing regime. Li has invested more than a billion dollars in China and owns most of the dock space in Hong Kong. In an exclusive deal with the People's Republic of China's communist government, Li has the right of first-refusal over all PRC ports south of the Yangtze river, which involves a close working relationship with the Chinese military and businesses controlled by the People's Liberation Army. Li has served as a middle man for PLA business dealings with the West. For example, Li financed several satellite deals between the U.S. Hughes Corporation and China Hong Kong Satellite [CHINASAT], a company owned by the People's Liberation Army. In 1997, Li Ka-shing and the Chinese Navy nearly obtained four huge roll-on/roll-off container ships -- which can be used for transporting military cargo -- in a deal that would have been financed by U.S. taxpayers. A June 1997 Rand report, "Chinese Military Commerce and U.S. National Security," stated, "Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, is also negotiating for PLA wireless system contracts, which would build upon his equity interest in Poly-owned Yangpu Land Development Company, which is building infrastructure on China's Hainan Island." In 1998, Li Ka-shing attempted to issue $2 billion in bonds, through his Hutchison company, in the United States. According to the Dow Jones Newswire, Hutchison revealed that 50 percent of the bonds would be used through a subsidiary known as Chung Kiu Communications Ltd., which had signed agreements to provide cellular services and equipment to joint ventures between the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. (Emphasis added.) …"
The New American 8/2/99 Admiral Thomas Moorer (USN Ret) 7/23/99 "...The United States appears to be sleep-walking on a course to sure destruction, and America's leaders, who have plotted this course, appear to be completely oblivious to the mortal danger they are leading us into. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the imminent giveaway of the U.S. Canal in Panama. In just a few months, unless the American people raise a terrific outcry, this strategic waterway, so vital to our economy and national security, will be turned over to Panama.... In reality, if we allow this suicidal course to continue, we will be transferring our strategic canal not to Panama, but to whichever power moves in to fill the vacuum. And there is no longer any cause to wonder which power that will be. Over the past several years, the People's Republic of China has made unmistakably clear its designs upon the Panama Canal. In fact, it has already moved in and begun to take control of this critically important asset.......it is one of the great untold stories that have been completely ignored by our news media. If we proceed along our present course, by the end of this year, on December 31st, Communist China will become the de facto new owners and rulers of the Panama Canal...."
Investor's Business Daily 7/28/99 Brian Mitchell "...The U.S. Department of Energy calls it a ''major transit center for oil shipments and a potential choke point.'' At year's end, the transit center and choke point will slip from U.S. control into the hands of a Hong Kong company with close ties to the Chinese government and military. The surrender of the Panama Canal has been scheduled for years, since the Senate approved the Carter-Torrijos Treaties in 1978. But U.S. officials are only now coming to terms with what the pullout will mean....."
AP 7/30/99 George Gedda "...A retired Army general joined Thursday with House Republicans in warning that the phase-out of the U.S. military presence in Panama could be a boon to South American narcotraffickers. ``Panama is critical to counterdrug efforts,'' said retired Gen. George A. Joulwan, who once led all U.S. military operations in Latin America. Testifying before the House International Relations Committee, Joulwan said losing the U.S. military infrastructure in Panama will affect the U.S. ability to prosecute the war on drugs. Under the Panama Canal treaties, the United States has until the end of the year to terminate all military operations in Panama -- a process that is well under way. Committee chairman Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., said the authors of the 1979 pact ``could not have foreseen neighboring Colombia's drug-fueled agony, nor the sophistication of the drug cartels' corrupting criminal reach.'' Gilman said it was a mistake for the United States to have put itself in the position of closing Howard Air Force Base, from which 15,000 military flights had taken off annually. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said Panama has no army, navy or air force with which to combat ``the well-armed narcoterrorist forces'' in Colombia In addition, he said the Panama Canal, instead of reverting to Panamanian control as prescribed under the treaties, ``is now in the hands of communist China,'' saying numerous entities with close ties to China's People's Liberation Army are very active in Panama...."
Chattanooga Free Press 8/8/99 "...The 51 miles of the American Panama Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans cut 8,000 miles off the ocean-to-ocean trip. Is that canal -- "our" canal -- now about to be surrendered to the control of Chinese Communists? .... an engineering wonder came into being -- open to the shipping of all the nations of the world -- under U.S. guarantees. Our canal became Panama's biggest business and supporter of its economy, from the shipping and military bases in the area. Sure, it was natural for Panamanian nationalist feelings to be stirred and for demands to be made to turn the canal over to Panama. After all, covetousness is a sin that has always existed. But it was "our" canal. We bought it. We paid for it. We built it. We should keep it. But Mr. Carter had a different idea, and Sen. Baker delivered his and other votes to make it possible for the United States to promise to give away our canal that provides convenient ocean-to-ocean transit for more than 13,000 ships each year. But the treaty mistakenly ratified by the United States Senate under our constitutional process was not the same treaty approved by the government of Panama's General Omar Torrijos! So great was the U.S. opposition to Mr. Carter's Panama Canal surrender that "the DeConcini Reservation" was added to it. It did not cure the danger of the Carter giveaway but did "guarantee" to the United States the right to use military force -- with or without the consent of Panama -- if that was deemed necessary to keep the canal open. But Torrijos never agreed to that! Mr. Carter allowed Gen. Torrijos to approve a different "agreement." A deal involving different understandings by the two parties should be no deal at all. But unless something is done by the United States Senate before midnight Dec. 31, our canal will be gone....."
House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Now, let's take a look at a Communist-owned and controlled facility in Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Hutchinson Group, also owned by Communist China, recently purchased both ends of the Panama Canal. This would give the Chinese control of the Panama Canal, it would give them control of Long Beach Naval Shipyard, and all of the access to and from and who sees what and where it goes. We feel that this would be a major national security threat....Panama Canal, one of the most strategic locations on the globe, has been brought under COSCO's web. Hutchinson Port Holdings Incorporated, a Hong Kong operated, controlled, again by a corporation, by Chinese Communists with direct ties to the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the Panama Canal and global, syndicated columnist, Georgie Anne Geyer, Universal Press Syndicate, March 26, 1997....At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we lost the Panama Canal, both ends of it, to Communist China owned companies. We had an American company from Alabama that bid on those same sites. They won the contracts for both of those sites. It was selected by Panama. After selection, after announcement, the Chinese government went in with sacks of cash, much like they did with our government here in the United States, and said, here is $25,000 for you, here is another $25,000 for you. And guess what? That decision was reversed and it went to Chinese Communists instead of a U.S. based firm...."
AP 8/9/99 "... President Ernesto Perez Balladares on Monday denied reports that he had pressured officials to approve visas for Chinese citizens as part of an alleged immigrant smuggling scheme. The Miami Herald in its Monday edition quoted Panama's fired intelligence chief, Samantha Smith, as saying that Perez Balladares had pressured her to approve visas for about 140 Chinese citizens who she said planned to head for the United States. ``There is a confusion here,'' Perez Balladares told reporters. ..."
Miami Herald 8/8/99 Glenn Garvin "...The head of Panama's intelligence agency and several of her subordinates, as well as the director of Tocumen International Airport and the head of the national police's aviation service, were fired in mid-June after President Ernesto Perez Balladares learned of the investigation. Meanwhile, the investigation also has touched off a serious dispute between the U.S. Justice Department and Simon Ferro, the American ambassador here. Justice Department officials angrily accused Ferro of blowing the secrecy of the investigation by canceling the U.S. visa of the Panamanian intelligence chief. Neither government is willing to discuss the scandal on the record. Perez Balladares' office wouldn't answer questions. And a U.S. embassy spokesman would say only: ``We don't have any comment on this.'' ...Neal Kuo, publisher of Panama's Chinese-language daily El Expreso, said he talked with 31 illegal immigrants on a single flight from Hong Kong last month. ``And one of my reporters made the same flight recently, and she said there were about 30 on her plane, too,'' Kuo added..... "
Miami Herald 8/8/99 Glenn Garvin "... The Herald was able to piece together this picture of the ring's operations: Chinese citizens paid as much as $15,000 for visas permitting them to fly from Hong Kong to Panama. Upon arrival here, they were escorted out of Tocumen International Airport through the diplomatic lounge, avoiding ordinary immigration checkpoints. Most of the Chinese then headed north across the virtually unguarded border to Costa Rica, where they made contact with so-called coyotes who guide migrants up the Central American isthmus to cross into California or Texas.... The scheme would be impossible without cooperation from within the National Security Council, Panama's intelligence agency, which must approve visa requests from what the government considers ``sensitive'' countries -- Cuba, Arab nations and mainland China...."
http://www.washtimes.com/index.html 8/12/99 Rowan Scarborough "...Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott recently wrote to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen that a Chinese shipping company is gaining broad authority over the Panama Canal and could deny passage to U.S. ships. "It appears that we have given away the farm without a shot being fired," the Mississippi Republican said in the Aug. 1 letter requesting Mr. Cohen's security assessment. It was the first time a congressional leader has raised questions about growing Chinese influence over one of the world's most strategic waterways. Until now, warnings were being raised primarily by a handful of conservative lawmakers, led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, who plans a fact-finding trip to Panama on Monday. The focus of concern is Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd., a giant Hong Kong-based shipping firm with ties to China's leadership and its armed forces, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Under circumstances the U.S. Embassy in Panama called unusual, the government in 1997 awarded Hutchinson a 25- to 50-year contract to run the two major ports on the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances.....Mr. Santoli said the canal is part of a Chinese strategy to move into countries abandoned by the United States and the former Soviet Union. In Cuba, for example, Chinese intelligence officials are helping Cuba build a communications facility, he said. "They're using Panama as a staging area for the region," Mr. Santoli said. "They're doing a massive amount of construction, a lot of investment. Literally hundreds of mainland Chinese are moving into Panama at all levels." The Miami Herald on Monday quoted Panama's ousted intelligence chief as accusing his country's president, Ernesto Perez Balladares, of personally demanding visas for 140 Chinese immigrants. The newspaper said the U.S. Justice Department is investigating a scheme in which Chinese immigrants paid $15,000 each for visas to use Panama as a staging area for illegal entry into the United States....."
Charleston Post and Courier 8/12/99 "...Overtures by the incoming government in Panama, which has expressed interest in reaching an agreement to allow American military and anti-narcotics operations to resume after the end-of-the-year hand-over of canal and U.S. installations, should be warmly welcomed. Fears that Panama could once again become a center for drug distribution, money laundering and anti-U.S. espionage will be eased by the remarks of Jose Miguel Aleman, who will become foreign minister when newly-elected President Mireyra Moscoso assumes office Sept. 1. In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Aleman noted Panama's "very significant historical, sociological, economic and commercial relationships with the United States." He went on to reassure Washington, "... we want to maintain excellent relationships with the United States and help in any matter that the United States would consider in its national security interests." ...Outgoing President Ernesto Perez Balladares refused to consider a U.S. proposal to retain Howard Air Force Base. His attitude was not surprising. Mr. Balladares is a protege of Gen. Noriega. The former Panamanian dictator is serving a long sentence in a U.S. jail for drug trafficking. Mr. Balladares is also the leader of the party founded by the late Gen. Omar Torrijos, a popular dictator who became a national hero when he persuaded the United States to give up the canal and U.S. facilities in the zone. Mr. Aleman indicated that after the formal hand-over of the canal and the withdrawal of the remaining American troops, the new Panamanian government would welcome a proposal that would allow U.S. military access to combat drug trafficking and to protect national security. ..."
UPI 8/12/99 "...The Pentagon has rejected the notion that a Chinese effort to build cargo unloading facilities at either end of the strategically vital Panama Canal could be a threat to U.S. national security, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says (Thursday). Senate Republican leader Trent Lott recently wrote to Defense Secretary William Cohen expressing concern that the facilities could be used to bar access to the canal, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is heavily trafficked by U.S. naval vessels...."
Fox news wire 8/12/99 "...The United States said Thursday it was satisfied that China will not try to command the Panama Canal despite Republican fears over a Hong Kong firm's control of ports at each end of the strategic waterway.
Republicans are worried about what they consider China's growing influence over the Panama Canal, which is to be turned over to Panama on Dec. 31 under a 1977 treaty. Panama in 1997 awarded a 25- to 50-year contract to giant Hong Kong shipping firm Hutchinson-Whampoa Ltd. to operate the two major ports on each end of the canal, which connects the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Washington Times reported Thursday that the shipping firm has ties to China's communist leadership and its armed forces, the People's Liberation Army. "The United States is satisfied our interests will be protected after the canal is turned over this December,'' said David Leavy, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. "We have seen no capability on the part of the PRC (People's Republic of China), which is a heavy user of the canal, to disrupt this operation. So I would caution people not to get too alarmist over this issue,'' he said....Leavy said American ships are guaranteed access to the canal under a law that governs the contract of the Hong Kong firm with Panama....."
Dallas Morning News 8/10/99 Tod Robberson "...Panama is willing to reopen talks with the United States regarding the use of its territory for American military and counternarcotics operations, the incoming foreign minister said Monday. Foreign minister-designate Jose Miguel Aleman said the government of President-elect Mireya Moscoso, who will take office Sept. 1, wants to take a fresh look at the issue of U.S. military access once the 1979 Panama Canal treaties are fully implemented at the end of this year. The incumbent government of President Ernesto Perez Balladares has categorically rejected the idea of any extended U.S. military presence and has demanded the full withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel from Panama by Dec. 31, as required under the canal treaties. U.S. officials acknowledge that the loss of access to Panama, home to Howard Air Force Base, the region's top counternarcotics surveillance outpost, has put a crimp in American anti-drug efforts. Although Howard is still operating, its counternarcotics flights have been transferred to other sites in Ecuador, Aruba and Curacao. Panama, which has no military, is described by U.S. officials as increasingly vulnerable to drug traffickers and guerrilla incursions from its southern neighbor, Colombia, the largest single source of cocaine and heroin sold in the United States...."
The Times 8/13/99 David Adams "...Mr Lott and others are worried by the operations of Hutchinson Whampoa, a large Hong Kong shipping company with ties to China, which in recent years has gained a big influence over canal traffic. The fears of Chinese domination in the US backyard come amid concern about China's global strategies, its human rights abuses and suspected spying at US nuclear laboratories. The United States protested in 1997 when the Panamanian Government awarded Hutchinson a contract to run the two ports at the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances. Since then Panamanian officials have been frequent visitors to Hong Kong and China, arousing suspicion of deeper ties. Yesterday China's Xinhua news agency announced that Alberto Vallarino, the Vice-President-elect of Panama, which is one of the few countries that recognise Taiwan, was visiting Beijing. After a recent trip to Panama by one US delegation, reports said that Panama had become the central base of operations for China in Latin America. According to critics of US policy, the recent changes in canal regulations could leave US commercial shipping and the navy "at the mercy" of China, potentially limiting or denying canal access to US vessels. But experts say the Republican fears are exaggerated. Despite the large Hong Kong-Chinese presence, US companies successfully compete for business at canal ports...."
The Washington Times 8/12/99 Rowan Scarborough "...The focus of concern is Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd., a giant Hong Kong-based shipping firm with ties to China's leadership and its armed forces, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Under circumstances the U.S. Embassy in Panama called unusual, the government in 1997 awarded Hutchinson a 25- to 50-year contract to run the two major ports on the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances. Moreover, conservatives assert that Panama gave Hutchinson broader powers in legislation known as "Law No. 5." Al Santoli, an aide to Mr. Rohrabacher, said the law enables Hutchinson to assign the pilots who take control of ships and steer them through the canal. He also said the Chinese company can block passage of ships to meet its business needs. This contention was challenged by a spokesman for the Panama Canal Commission, a panel of five Americans and four Panamanians who run the waterway. The Panama Canal Commission spokesman said the treaty gives the United States the right to intervene militarily to protect access. Mr. Lott wrote to Mr. Cohen, "This administration is allowing a scenario to develop where U.S. national security interests could not be protected without confronting the Chinese communists in the Americas. U.S. naval ships will be at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots and could even be denied passage through the Panama Canal by Hutchinson, an arm of the People's Liberation Army. "In addition, the Chinese Communist Party will gain an intelligence information advantage by controlling this strategic chokepoint. It appears that we have given away the farm without a shot being fired.".... Military experts say a pattern of Chinese actions reveals a long-range strategic plan to dominate Asia and exert influence worldwide. The moves include its forays in Panama, its failed attempt to take over the old Long Beach, Calif., naval base, its suspected spying at U.S. nuclear labs, its illegal injection of campaign cash into Democratic Party coffers and its increased military spending, especially on nuclear weapons....."
The Center For Security Policy / http://www.security-policy.org/latest.html 8/10/99 "...Yesterday, President Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former President Jimmy Carter. The timing of this tribute was striking since two of the many foreign policy "chickens" loosed during the Carter Administration -- the surrender of the Panama Canal and the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China -- are now coming home to roost. Of particular concern is the inattention by Mr. Clinton and his subordinates (many of whom, as the current president noted in the course of his remarks yesterday in Atlanta, previously had worked for President Carter) to the convergence of two trends initiated by the last Democratic chief executive: a vacuum of power at the strategic isthmus of Panama and a determination on the part of an increasingly assertive China to fill it at America's expense...."
Excerpts from China's Beachhead at Panama Canal by J. Michael Waller Insight Magazine 7/25/99 "...Under the terms of a controversial lease, Panama gave Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. the right to build new port facilities in Balboa, the canal's only Pacific port, and a major Atlantic port in Cristobal, and to run them up to the next half-century. As Beijing increased its economic muscle in the country, Panama's politicians gave Hutchison Whampoa the right to control anchorages on both ends of the canal, to hire new pilots to guide ships through the waterway, to block all passage that interferes with the company's business, to take control of key public roads near the canal and to have right of first refusal for control of some former U.S. military bases. "By most accounts, an unfair and corrupt contractual bidding process, which was protested by the U.S. ambassador to Panama, enabled the Chinese Hutchison Whampoa company to outmaneuver American and Japanese companies for the long-term lease on the canal ports," according to Al Santoli, an aide to Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California. Santoli has traveled the perimeter of the Pacific monitoring Chinese maritime encroachments from the Philippines to Panama. U.S. Ambassador to Panama William Hughes nearly was declared persona non grata for protesting the Hutchison deal when it was exposed three years ago, a U.S. official tells Insight. President Clinton responded by appointing Robert Pastor, an architect of the 1977 canal giveaway and an advocate for left-wing revolutionary causes, to replace Hughes. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms of North Carolina, one of the few lawmakers watching the Panama powder keg, blocked the nomination....
Excerpts from China's Beachhead at Panama Canal by J. Michael Waller Insight Magazine 7/25/99 "...Beijing is in Panama for the long haul. Hutchison Whampoa has the right to extend its leases until the year 2047 or to transfer them to a third party. Already a Chinese corporation called Great Wall Panama has secured a lease as long as 60 years for an export zone on the bank of the canal on the Atlantic side. "I have a sense that the U.S. is edgy about Hutchison Whampoa," former Panamanian Vice President Guillermo "Billy" Ford tells Insight. But Washington has done little to pressure the corrupt government of President Ernesto Perez Balladares to reopen the bidding. Last year, Balladares hired Clinton strategist James Carville as his personal consultant in a bid to keep power beyond his constitutional term, which expires this month. Balladares says he will step down, but he has packed the new Canal Commission with his pro-Beijing cronies. ..."
Excerpts from China's Beachhead at Panama Canal by J. Michael Waller Insight Magazine 7/25/99 "...Beijing uses large-scale emigration to base future intelligence assets abroad to recruit agents from ethnic Chinese communities, Insight has learned. And Panama is a key target. "One of the primary factors accounting for the success of Chinese intelligence is the exploitation of ... the vast emigration of Chinese to communities worldwide," according to Stanislav Lunev, a former Soviet military-intelligence colonel who operated in Beijing before defecting to the United States in 1992. According to Lunev, "The Chinese intention to develop oceangoing capabilities for its navy is well-known. But the Chinese navy does not yet have such worldwide capabilities at a time when it needs to have information about the perimeter of the Pacific region. This is the reason that Chinese entrepreneurs are actively in the market for abandoned port facilities in strategic locations." Lunev specifically cites the Panama Canal.
Heritage Foundation 8/19/99 John J Tierney, PhD "…But phasing out America's strategic presence in Panama carries serious consequences. Unless the Clinton Administration cements a new agreement to retain a direct U.S. presence in Panama, the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops will jeopardize the security of, as well as U.S. access to, the Canal. It will open the door for China to gain virtual control of the Panama Canal and assert its influence in the Western hemisphere; it also could make the war on drugs and terrorism more difficult…..The 1977 treaty transferring ownership of the Canal to Panama requires all U.S. military troops to leave when the treaty expires on December 31, 1999. Under the companion Treaty of Permanent Neutrality, which also becomes effective on that date, the United States retains the right to protect and defend the Canal beyond 2000. The U.S. instrument of ratification for the Neutrality Treaty allows both sides to negotiate an extension of the agreement giving the United States the right to station troops in Panama and enjoy basing rights there. ….Indeed, most Panamanians recognize that their government is unable to defend the Panama Canal or protect the country against the type of terrorist raids that Colombian guerrillas conducted in the Darien region in 1997. José Luis Sosa, director of Panama's National Police, said that Panama is "not in a condition to undertake a battle in the field with any group." In such a vulnerable environment, a U.S. priority should be the joint establishment of an effective security force…."
World Tribune.com 8/19/99 G Russell Evan "…In June, a group led by Richard Delgaudio of the National Security Center observed extensive construction, barbed wire fences and Chinese guards at the Panama Ports Company, which is controlled by the Hutchison Whampoa group, which in turn is controlled by the Peoples' Liberation Army of China. Mr. Delgaudio is rightly concerned about China's activities in the Panama Canal area in a year when the last U.S. military forces have been withdrawn from bases there and which will see the canal turned over to Panama by the United States on Dec. 31. Article V of the Neutrality Treaty allows Panama only in defense sites. Article VI gives U.S. warships "head of line" priority. Not so, says Panama Law No. 5 in its 50-year lease to Red China's agent Hutchison Port Holdings, with "priority" at the ports and "occupation" of Rodman Naval Station and part of Albrook Air Force Station — where Red China can base missiles, submarines and J-11 bombers 900 miles from Miami. Hutchison's construction projects at Balboa on the Pacific side include new piers and huge warehouses. Workers' uniforms and signs proclaim "Panama Ports Company," a smokescreen for Hutchison. The new administration building at the Balboa port is also labeled "Panama Ports Company" and houses Hutchison offices and Midland Bank, which is now owned by Chinese interests. Nearby is Cable & Wireless Communications, which is 25 percent owned by the Chinese. This is all part of the $22.2 million per year lease engineered by Panamanian President Ernesto "Toro" Balladares behind the backs of American companies…."
World Tribune.com 8/19/99 G Russell Evan "…On the Atlantic side at Cristobal, also controlled by Hutchison, dozens of ships routinely await clearance. After the Canal surrender date of Dec. 31, Hutchison has authority under Panama Law No. 5 to use its own pilots and, with its "port priority," can certainly control "head of line" on a day-to-day basis. Through Hutchison, China has in effect "established a strategic beachhead in Panama," Delgaudio's group concluded in their report (available care of the National Security Center, 10560 Main St., #217, Fairfax, Va 22030). Members of the group included Al Santoli, an aide to U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, California Republican, James Doran of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Michael Waller, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council…."
Insight Magazine 8/20/99 J Michael Waller "…Control of ports on both sides of the Panama Canal by a Chinese shipping company tied to the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, poses no security threat to the United States, the Clinton administration has insisted in coordinated statements by the State Department, the Pentagon and the White House. But congressional Republicans aren't buying that story. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott sent Insight's report, "China's Beachhead at Panama Canal," to Defense Secretary William Cohen, calling the article "very disturbing" and asking for his response. Some on Capitol Hill are starting to ask whether the Clinton administration, as part of a suspected policy of relaxing vigilance toward China as a result of campaign contributions, has allowed Beijing to dominate the Panama Canal.. The administration won't acknowledge the relationship between the controversial company, shipping giant Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., and the PLA, even though the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee investigating Beijing's alleged covert funding of the 1996 Clinton-Gore reelection effort publicly established the connection two years ago. GOP concerns involve coincidences in the actions of key Clinton administration figures, including some appointments in, of all places, Panama, at the same time the Panamanian leadership was cutting deals with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. The suspicions tie in to similar associations of other administration officials in Washington during the Chinese campaign-funding scandal. One of the concerns is possible politicization of the Panama Canal Commission, the U.S.-Panamanian agency running the waterway. President Clinton appointed Undersecretary of the Army Joe Reeder, who had no expertise on Panama or maritime issues, to head the normally nonpolitical commission consisting of five Americans and four Panamanians. Reeder was an old friend and law-firm colleague of the late Democratic National Committee chief and Commerce Department secretary Ron Brown, a central figure in the China campaign controversy. In March 1996, with Hutchison Whampoa poised to establish its beachhead, Reeder accompanied Brown on a trade mission to Panama. In 1998, Clinton appointed former Florida Democratic Party chief Simon X. Ferro as ambassador to Panama. Ferro, who assumed his post in February, is suspected to have received the position as a reward for securing the ill-fated nomination of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, as Florida's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1994…Clinton appointed longtime crony and former White House chief of staff Thomas "Mack" McClarty as special envoy to the Western Hemisphere, even though he had no experience in Latin America. A source with business in Panama tells Insight that McClarty has "spent a lot of time in Panama smoothing the waters for a lot of these activities going on" with Chinese companies and has built strong relations with Panama's secretive banking community. Another White House fixture in Panama is Clinton political strategist James Carville, who in 1997 advised outgoing Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares, who wanted to serve beyond his constitutional single five-year term. Balladares engineered the turnover of former U.S. facilities to Hutchison Whampoa. In his Aug. 1 letter to Cohen, Lott was blunt: "Bill, this administration is allowing a scenario to develop where U.S. national-security interests could not be protected without confronting the Chinese Communists in the Americas." He termed Hutchison Whampoa "an arm of the People's Liberation Army."…."
Investors Business Daily 8/27/99 "…The Clinton administration has again dealt with the Chinese in a way that puts our country in grave jeopardy.'' With those words, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., tried to express the outrage he felt after returning from Panama on a much-needed fact-finding mission. His outrage is justified. Ronald Reagan was disgusted when Jimmy Carter's treaty signed the canal over to Panama (to be effective Dec. 31, 1999). But Carter's signature looks like a master stroke when compared with what Bill Clinton has allowed in Panama. Carter retained a few rights, such as allowing American warships to go to the ''head of the line'' in waiting to go through the canal. …. In 1997, without the knowledge of our ever-alert embassy in Panama, a bill was quietly passed in the Panamanian legislature giving birth to Law 5. The law authorized the lease of the canal to a Hong Kong company, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Rohrabacher said Hutchison is a third owned by the People's Liberation Army of China, and was chosen over at least two American companies in a secret process. But contract or no, we have a treaty, right? Certainly, our ''head of the line'' agreement with Panama would be recognized in its contract with China, right? Well, not exactly. There's apparently a clause in the contract that would enable the Chinese lessees to refuse canal access to U.S. ships! Another Law 5 clause authorizes Hutchison to buy options to lease adjacent U.S. Navy and Air Force bases - handy for launching China's Russian-made submarines and American-style missiles just 900 miles from Miami….''The Clinton gang's handprints are all over this,'' said Rohrabacher. And ''guess who's going to run Balladares' re-election campaign? James Carville!'' If Carville does work for the Balladares campaign, this will be a clear White House endorsement of a regime against whom we should be taking swift action…."
Augusta Chronicle 8/21/99 Editorial "… The Clinton administration's ``denial'' that Communist China is moving to take control of the Panama Canal is, when you read between the lines, less than reassuring. ``We have seen no capability on the part of the People's Republic of China to disrupt the canal's operation,'' said White House national security spokesman David Leavy in response to concerns expressed by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mass., that Beijing's dictators are, indeed, trying to replace the United States as Panama's canal ``partners.'' Note that Leavy didn't really deny the takeover attempt, he simply denied the Red Chinese had yet reached the point where they could disrupt passage through the canal. …..China appears to be positioning itself commercially and militarily along key naval choke points as they build up their navy, the way the Soviets tried to do in the 1980s. Meanwhile, except for some mild protests from the administration about how the corrupt Panama regime awarded the canal contract, Clinton has been looking the other way as China's armed forces (which gave money to his re-election campaign) maneuver to pose a serious national security threat right on our own doorstep….."
BBC Internet 9/2/99 "…The new president of Panama, Mireya Moscoso, has pledged in her inaugural address to ensure a smooth transition when the Panama Canal - one of the world's most important waterways - passes to national control. Mrs Moscoso, the country's first woman leader, said her government would manage the canal responsibly and efficiently after the US withdrawal at the end of the year. "My government intends to increase the autonomy of the canal so it may operate without any partisan political influence," she told a crowd of 25,000 people in the national stadium..."
Xinhua News Agency via Northern Light 9/11/99 ".... Panama President Mireya Moscoso will demand the United States to clean the firing ranges during the visit she will make on September 23 to the U.N. Assembly. The Panamanian president was quoted Saturday by local press as saying that her government expects to meet with U.S. authorities to discuss the areas contaminated with big quantities of undetonated explosives, left by the U.S. Army. Mireya Moscoso, who assumed the presidency of her country September 1, said she will sit to talk with the U.S. authorities like friends and ask them to honor the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, signed by both countries in 1977 and clean those polygons, because this is indispensable for the Panamanian citizens security. The U.S. Army created three firing ranges in the canal zone during its permanence of almost one century, where the U.S. troops left a big amount of undetonated explosives. ..."
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 1. Growing Role of Communist China: The People's Republic of China is making major political, economic and intelligence inroads in Latin America and the Caribbean. China has increased its activities in Cuba, including the creation of major electronic intelligence/jamming facilities directed at the United States, and increased Spanish language broadcasts of Radio Beijing. Panama, the strategic choke point between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and between North and South America, is becoming China's "hub" or "beach head" in our hemisphere. U.S. security officials and knowledgeable Panamanians see the Chinese using trade as their cover for intelligence and political operations. Beijing's goals are: 1) usurping U.S. political influence in the region; 2) dislodging the political recognition and economic influence of Taiwan; 3) a base for sabotage in the event of any future U.S.-China conflicts over Taiwan or the South China Sea. Canal security is very difficult and the presence of Chinese entities controlling ports at both ends of the Canal is a serious security risk. In addition, their control of the ports and stevedoring enhances the two-way flow of sensitive weapons-related technologies and the potential for sabotage....".
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 2. Hutchison Whampoa Control of Canal Ports: Businessmen involved in the bidding, as well as current and former-U.S. officials claim that the Chinese Hutchison Whampoa Company obtained the contract for 25 to 50 year lease for the Canal ports by using unfair under-the-table tactics. At least two consortiums, involving American companies may have offered better bids for these strategic port facilities. The smell of corruption is exceptionally strong. In addition, China has stationed a senior intelligence official, reportedly Mr. Yu Gi Ye, is reportedly Beijing's Commercial Attache and de facto ambassador. He operates with a staff of 14 out of the Global Bank Building in Panama City. It is especially troubling that the Clinton administration has publicly stated that they have no knowledge of a connection between Hutchison Whampoa and the Chinese government or military. See the attached documents that include or cite reports by U.S. intelligence agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Export Affairs [BXA], the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the Rand Corporation identifying Li Ka-Shing and Hutchison Whampoa as financing or serving as a conduit for Communist China's People Liberation Army [and navy] to acquire sensitive technologies and other equipment. In addition, Li serves as a board member on CITIC, which is a state-owned funding and technology acquiring source for Communist China's military. Hutchison Whampoa's control over millions of cargo containers at entrance points at both ends of the Canal for the next 50 years is a more pressing security concern than the legal debate over who may appoint Canal pilots.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 3. Corruption, Smuggling and Money Laundering: Panama - especially Colon - has become the "K Mart" of worldwide smuggling; the counterfeit and piracy of U.S. products; repackaging of Chinese textiles to beat U.S. quotas; and illicit money laundering. Chinese triad gangs from the mainland and Taiwan have been working together, in tandem with Russian mafia Mafia and Cuban entities. There are also Middle Eastern organizations present, as well as the pervasive activities of the Colombian drug cartels and narco-terrorist organizations. The entire 2,000 mile coast of Panama, from Costa Rica to the Colombian border has been as drop-off points for weapons being shipped into Colombia. There are also some 1,500 islands along the coast. Corruption in the Colombian government is rampant. Example: Panama's negotiator for a treaty with U.S. on stolen cars brought to Panama for transshipment, herself drove a stolen car.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 4. Chinese Alien Smuggling: There is strong evidence of massive systematic smuggling of Chinese illegal aliens into Panama, which results in a steady flow of illegal Chinese from Panama to the United States, with the complicity of the highest levels of the Panama government. This is a major news story in Panama. All Panamanians the delegation spoke with, from senior government officials to ordinary citizens, expressed deep concern about the exceptionally large numbers of illegal mainland Chinese migrants that have been flooding into Panama during the past few years, far surpassing similar activity that occurred during the Noriega dictatorship. Panama's former Intelligence chief Samantha Smith, now in hiding in fear of retaliation, told us in detail the role of President Balladares and his closest aides in the Chinese alien smuggling.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... THE THREAT: If mainland Chinese and their Hong Kong-based front companies dominate the local and macro Canal-based economy, Beijing will become the dominant political influence in the country. In Panamanian newspapers, the designated new Canal Commissioner Ricardo Martinelli has been quoted as stating, 'The departure of the U.S. role in the Canal Zone will have no economic impact on Panama because of the influx of income from [mainland] China.' The media also report that China has promised to step up economic assistance and investment in Panama after the U.S. departs. China's $2 billion worth of annual commerce in the Canal Zone dwarfs the $500 million of commerce by Taiwan. And there are reports, in Hong Kong and Panama, that Taiwan's Evergreen shipping company is planning to sell its port on the Atlantic Coast of the Canal, with Hutchison Whampoa a potential buyer.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 5. The Clinton-Balladares-China Connection: The ties between the President Balladares and communist China, as well as the ties between President Clinton's political entourage and Balladares and China is a matter of serious concern. In 1996, the Canal contract bidding occurred while China was making substantial contributions to the Clinton campaign. Li Ka-Shing is an investor in the Riady family's Hong Kong China Bank. Clinton crony and former White House Chief of Staff Mack McClarty is the President's Special Envoy to Latin America and has reportedly spent "a lot of time" in Panama. In 1997, James Carville ran the Balladares campaign to extend his presidency. Clinton lawyer Gregory Craig has represented at least one Balladares crony indicted on drug-smuggling charges in the U.S., and was publicly mentioned by Balladares as the lawyer to possibly represent his interests if the Chinese alien smuggling issue is brought to a U.S. court.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 6. Maintenance of the Canal: Around 1/3 of the world's economy passes through the Canal, including more than 15% of all U.S. trade. In addition the U.S. Navy makes some 200 passages through the Canal annually. The Canal is especially fragile to maintain and operate, requiring a cadre of skilled technicians and engineers to maintain. The Canal Workers Union reports that by the end of 1999, some 30 percent of skilled Canal Workers are being laid off. They are reportedly being replaced by inexperienced personnel, whose qualifications are based on their membership to one political party or another. There are also reports that after the Canal is fully under Panamanian control that further lay-offs of skilled workers are expected. In addition, there are reports that pilots, engineers and other technicians are being hired in Communist China for the Canal, but will not arrive in Panama until after the year 2000.
Codel Report: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Al Santoli ".... 7. Colombian Narco-Terrorist Forces: The U.S. military and other counter-drug forces will completely depart Panama by December 1999. Panama has no army, air force or navy, except for a small Coast Guard. The government relies upon largely untrained and poorly-armed police to patrol the border area with Colombia where the FARC narco-terrorist forces are increasingly active inside of Panamanian territory. Colombian FARC military/political units are increasingly active in the Darien region of Panama, including setting up schools, free clinics and other institutions. They are essentially waging a Maoist "people's war." The incoming President Mireya Moscoso and her advisors have spoken inconsistently on a U.S. role in bolstering Panama's security, counter-narcotics operations from Panamanian territory and the legality of the "DeConcini Reservation" to the Carter-Torrijos Treaty that would permit the U.S. to intervene to defend the Canal's security. The Clinton Administration speaks of a "two to three year cooling of period" before resuming bilateral talks on a Multinational Counternarcotics Center in Panama. Unfortunately, by that time the narco-terrorists could be in a much stronger position on both sides of the border.
Judicial Watch 9/17/99 Joe Giganti On September 16, 1999, Judicial Watch filed suit against the Panama Canal Commission, Department of Defense, and Department of the Army to obtain documentation showing why the Clinton Administration has allowed Communist Chinese interests to occupy the Panama Canal zone. The suit is a prelude to other planned action to prevent the transfer of the Canal to the Panamanians under these circumstances at the end of the year....."
CSPAN 9/17/99 Freeper lynx2 "...Rep Dana Rohrabacker is on Cspan...he is talking of the Chinese corruption that BOUGHT the leases at the Panama Canal through millions of dollars in bribes to the corrupt President of Panama. He also said that the President of Panama was prohibted from running for a second term by the Panama constitution , but when Dana went to Panama to do some digging he found that JAMES CARVILLE was down there trying to find a way for the President to run again against their constitution ..."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....The administration won't acknowledge the relationship between the controversial company, shipping giant Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., and the PLA, even though the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee investigating Beijing's alleged covert funding of the 1996 Clinton-Gore reelection effort publicly established the connection two years ago. GOP concerns involve coincidences in the actions of key Clinton administration figures, including some appointments in, of all places, Panama, at the same time the Panamanian leadership was cutting deals with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. The suspicions tie in to similar associations of other administration officials in Washington during the Chinese campaign-funding scandal...."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....One of the concerns is possible politicization of the Panama Canal Commission, the U.S.-Panamanian agency running the waterway. President Clinton appointed Undersecretary of the Army Joe Reeder, who had no expertise on Panama or maritime issues, to head the normally nonpolitical commission consisting of five Americans and four Panamanians. Reeder was an old friend and law-firm colleague of the late Democratic National Committee chief and Commerce Department secretary RonBrown, a central figure in the China campaign controversy. In March 1996, with Hutchison Whampoa poised to establish its beachhead, Reeder accompanied Brown on a trade mission to Panama. ....."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....In 1998, Clinton appointed former Florida Democratic Party chief Simon X. Ferro as ambassador to Panama. Ferro, who assumed his post in February, is suspected to have received the position as a reward for securing the ill-fated nomination of first lady HillaryRodham Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, as Florida's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1994. ...."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....Clinton appointed longtime crony and former White House chief of staff Thomas "Mack" McClarty as special envoy to the Western Hemisphere, even though he had no experience in Latin America. A source with business in Panama tells Insight that McClarty has "spent a lot of time in Panama smoothing the waters for a lot of these activities going on" with Chinese companies and has built strong relations with Panama's secretive banking community....."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....Another White House fixture in Panama is Clinton political strategist James Carville, who in 1997 advised outgoing Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares, who wanted to serve beyond his constitutional single five-year term. Balladares engineered the turnover of former U.S. facilities to Hutchison Whampoa. ...."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "....In his Aug. 1 letter to Cohen, Lott was blunt: "Bill, this administration is allowing a scenario to develop where U.S. national-security interests could not be protected without confronting the Chinese Communists in the Americas." He termed Hutchison Whampoa "an arm of the People's Liberation Army." Before Cohen could reply, administration spinmeisters immediately responded with carefully worded statements coordinated between the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon. Hutchison Whampoa issued a statement denying any connection with the PLA. "We do not anticipate any problems whatsoever from the result of this - of the port facilities that are owned by a Chinese company," said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon in response to a Washington Times report on Lott's letter. "We do not see the Chinese-owned port facilities as a military or a national-security threat." ....."That's baloney," says Al Santoli, a special assistant to Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, who monitors Beijing's long-term strategy to dominate the Pacific Ocean. "One or two people with a small amount of explosives can disable that canal for a very, very long time." The White House assertion that Beijing lacks the capability to block the Panama Canal, Santoli and other military experts say, is misleading, false or nave....."
Insight on the News 9/13/99 J Michael Waller "...."COSCO is building Panamax ships, not superships," says a maritime-industry expert. He notes that Panamax-class ships are designed to be as large as possible while fitting through the canal's locks, sometimes with as few as four inches to spare on either side, and that COSCO, the China Ocean Shipping Co., is considered the PLA's merchant marine. "Continued Panamax construction," the maritime businessman says, shows Beijing plans on keeping the canal open." He adds, "What do the Chinese know about the canal's future that we don't know?" Plenty, if the administration's public statements are any indication. In trying to refute Lott's letter, administration spinmeisters have resorted to legalistic defenses and assertions of the U.S. right to unilateral action. (Cohen had not yet responded to Lott's letter when this article went to press.) The White House and the State Department cite a January 1997 law that Leavy claims will ensure "that the canal will remain open to vessels of all nations." Leavy had to be prodded by a reporter to say that the law was Panamanian, not U.S., but insisted that "our stake in the canal is preserved" thanks to "legal remedies." What the White House and the State Department didn't say is that the law, known as Law No. 5, gives Hutchison Whampoa total control of the canal's only Pacific port, Balboa; the first option to take over the strategic former U.S. Rodman Naval Station across the waterway from Balboa; total control of the U.S.-built Cristobal port on the Atlantic; access to part of the former U.S. Albrook Air Force Station; the right to control the pilots of all ships using the canal; control of anchorages; and other concessions that critics say contravene the letter and spirit of the 1977 Carter-Torrijos treaties that handed the canal to Panama. Under the treaties, all U.S. forces will have left Panama by the end of this year, and all facilities will be turned over to the Panamanian government....."
China Times 9/19/99 "....Judicial Watch, a non-partisan, public interest American law organization dedicated to fighting government corruption, said Friday that it has filed suit against the Department of Defense, Department of Army and the Panama Canal Commission to obtain documentation showing why the Clinton administration has allowed Communist Chinese interests to occupy the Panama Canal zone. Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch chairman, said the suit is a prelude to other planned actions to prevent the transfer of the Canal to the Panamanians at the end of this year according to a treaty signed by the United States and Panama. "It would appear that the Clinton administration, perhaps because of Chinese campaign contributions, has overlooked yet another potential national security debacle. Judicial Watch intends to get to the bottom of this and take whatever action is appropriate, in conjunction with other interested parties," stressed Klayman. The Clinton administration, however, denies that US national security will be endangered after the Panama Canal is returned to the Panamanians, saying that it will not allow the Panama Canal to be controlled by a Hong Kong shipping company. ..."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) "....During a recent trip to Panama, I spent time investigating the situation, spoke to people who were in hiding, who were afraid for their lives, spoke to others who were firsthand observers of corruption and firsthand observers of a strategic maneuver on the part of the Chinese that is moving forward and putting the United States in great danger. ...."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) "....I was down, as I say, in Panama a very short time ago, a month ago; and I was shocked to see ghost towns in what had been only a short time ago American military bases. Panama, of course, has no military of their own. They have no military, and they have always relied on the United States military to protect the canal against any type of aggression. So when I traveled to Panama, and having been there many times in the past and seen many American military persons there to protect Panama and protect our national security interests and protect the canal, I was shocked when I saw they were gone. They are all gone. It is like this hall of Congress now. I am the only Member standing here. When one goes down to Panama where there used to be tens of thousands of American troops, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army, they were always there; they are gone, and there is no Panamanian military force to take up the slack...."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... Now, what does that mean to us? Well, that means to us that there is a vulnerability there. There are two vulnerabilities: number one, there is a war going on next door in Colombia and already the narco terrorists, who are allied with Fidel Castro and the people who hate the United States, already those guerrillas have infiltrated into the Panamanian military. There is nothing standing between them and the Panama Canal. That alone should cause alarm bells to go off because the Panama Canal is vulnerable to sabotage. I will not go into detail, but it is incredibly vulnerable to sabotage...."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... What concerns me more is the overwhelming evidence of a Chinese presence and even domination of Panama in the Panama Canal, something that is in the process of happening. That, to me, was even more frightening because I know that we can blink our eyes and this magnificent achievement of the United States, a canal between the two oceans, something that we rely on in times of international emergency so we can send our ships from one ocean to the other and take off days, actually a week, of travel around the Horn in South America, that that Panama Canal now is totally vulnerable and is slowly coming under the domination of the Communist Chinese. Now, let me say what I mean. There is a company called Hutchison Whampoa, run by a man named Li Ka-Shing. He is part of the clique, he is part of Beijing's inner circle, he is a front man, and his company is a front for the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government, in fact, owns over 30 percent outright of his company. This company is tied, not closely but tied totally within the small circle of elite of the Beijing regime. This company now has won the contract which provides them control of all of the port facilities on both ends of the canal. Now, to be fair about it, there are some other new port facilities further away that are being built but on both ends of the canal, directly outside of the canal. Those port facilities are now under control of this Communist Chinese front company....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... They are also in negotiations and are trying to, and I am not sure if this is part of the lease or not, to get control of one of the air bases in Panama, the Howard Air Base, as well as some of the other military facilities that we left behind. Now, how did that happen? What has gone wrong here? What is happening? How can a country that is considered to be belligerent, and many people are trying to have a realistic policy, considered to be belligerent and hostile to the United States, end up with a commanding position in the Panama Canal and a position to dominate this strategic waterway? How did that happen? Where was our intelligence? Where was the NSA? Who were they listening to? Where was the CIA? I think the CIA and the NSA probably did their job. The trouble is that they are reporting to the Clinton administration; and everywhere in the world where we look, where America's national security has been put in jeopardy by the Communist Chinese, the fingerprints of the Clinton administration are all over the crime scene. The people who are supposed to be protecting our interests are not protecting our national security interests....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... So I went down and I met with the ambassador, the ambassador to Panama from the United States. I asked the ambassador, I said, Mr. Ambassador, how did they get this contract? I said, In fact, I have even heard that there might have been some bribery involved here....He says, oh, we do not know if there is any corruption involved in this. I said, what do your intelligence reports say? He said, what intelligence reports? I said, what does the NSA say when they are listening in on the conversations involved with the people involved in these negotiations? Well, I do not know, I have not seen those reports, if there are any. What does your station chief, the head of the CIA there, what does he say? I have not seen any report by him. This is the most important thing that has happened in the past 10 years in Panama, and the ambassador has not bothered to read the intelligence reports of how that contract came into being. So I said, well, Mr. Ambassador, this is really an important thing. Do you not think you ought to check up on it? And he says, oh, I guess maybe I should. Well, come to find out that there are certain people who work for the government whose job is not to see any evil, not to go looking for those reports. ...."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) "....So I went out after meeting the ambassador. By the way, the CIA station chief was conveniently not available when I was in Panama, conveniently not available. So I went out to try to find things on my own. I am sorry to report today to my colleagues and to whoever is listening or reading the Congressional Record on this speech that I was able to find out information that has indicated to me that the lease arrangement, the contract arrangement with this Communist Chinese front company was obtained through bribery of high-level Panamanian officials. I talked to people who were directly involved with the negotiations, directly involved with the bidding process, and I was told, and these people are afraid to say so publicly, but they told me privately that there were bribes in the millions of dollars that were paid to the former president of Panama, Balladares, for the lease agreement with the Hutchison Whampoa company, and it was again repeated to me over and over again that Hutchison Whampoa did not offer the best bid for those port facilities on either side of the Panama Canal, yet they were awarded that lease agreement, and the only explanation is that millions of dollars of bribes were provided to high-level Panamanian officials....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... President Balladares, who was president at the time and recently stepped down, it is important for us to note that the Panamanian Constitution prevents a president of Panama from running for reelection. President Balladares wanted to change the Constitution so that he could run for reelection. The Chinese certainly bankrolled that campaign, and guess who was down there running the referendum to try to change the Panamanian Constitution so this man who helped give away the Panama Canal would have the right to run again for office? Who was down there running that campaign for him? James Carville, that is who. Who is he? Every time you turn around, the President's inner circle is involved with something that is undercutting America's national security. I am recommending to our colleagues that we pay attention to Panama. Up until now, the reason these things are happening is that we have left it to the administration, and Panama has been off of the radar screen of the United States of America....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... Just one other note. When I went to Panama, the head of the Panamanian CIA, that is their central intelligence agency, was in hiding. Her name was Samantha Smith. Samantha Smith was in hiding, and our embassy did not know where she was, they did not know what was happening, how to get hold of her. There was no report on Samantha Smith, of how we could talk to her. The head of the Panamanian CIA was in hiding for this reason, because there had been information that she had been involved in a smuggling ring of Communist Chinese aliens, Chinese residents of the mainland of China, who had paid $30,000 a head to President Balladares of Panama in order to go through Panama into the United States of America, hundreds of them. This woman, the head of the CIA, was the one who signed off on this operation. But she had signed off on it because her president had ordered her to sign those documents, those requests from these Chinese coming from the mainland. First of all, I want to know who these people were, who these Chinese were who could afford to pay $30,000 to be smuggled into the United States through Panama. Chinese farmers do not have that kind of money. I do not know if they are saboteurs, I do not know who they are, but I want to know who they are. The head of the Panamanian CIA, when she realized she was going to be the fall person, she was going to be blamed when this became known, went into hiding. Guess what our? Our embassy just could not find her. They had not had contact with her. But guess what, within one day, I found her....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... Within one day, I had a meeting with this head of their Panamanian intelligence. She just told me everything about how the President had forced her to sign these documents, ordered her, even above her objection; and how these Chinese would come in, these illegal Chinese would come in, land in Panama, and there would be a special escort officer that would take them on the second floor at the airport in Panama and take them around, and then take them where she did not know; and how she had protested to the President, but the president of Panama, Balladares, had ordered her to do so. This is the man who also, fascinatingly enough, provided the contract for Hutchison Whampoa, the Chinese front company that now controls both ends of the canal. Let me tell the Members something that I consider to be even another little bit of evidence that we should not miss. Supposedly, our government has been negotiating with the Panamanian government, the government of Balladares, for what? We have been negotiating to try to maintain some type of military presence in Panama to protect the Panama Canal....."
Congressional Record, http://thomas.loc.gov 9/22/99 Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) ".... Polls indicate now that from 70 to 80 percent of the Panamanian people love the United States and want to see a military presence of the United States in Panama. We left. They told us to leave, and we left. Now they know we have been serious all these years, that we believe they have the right and freedom to control their own country. We are not like Russia, China. If the people do not want us, we do not stay there and brutalize the people in order to maintain our military bases. We got out. That just reconfirmed for the people of Panama, hey, the Americans are good people after all. They really do believe in democracy. We want them back. Although the polls showed 70 to 80 percent of the Panamanian people wanted us there, our State Department could not negotiate a contract and a deal that would permit us, an agreement that would permit us to have an American military presence in Panama. They could not do it. Something is wrong. Something is wrong here. Of course, it was President Balladares who was the head of that country, and of course our own ambassador had not read any of the intelligence reports. I do not guess he has read any intelligence reports on any instructions Balladares might have had with those negotiators, or any contact that he might have with the Communist Chinese. ...."
The New Australian Published: No. 135, 9/27-10/4/99 Larry Elgin "…Not too long ago, on 28 July, 1999, an interagency Panamanian police force seized a cache of heavy weapons at a waterfront home located just minutes in driving time from the Canal on the Atlantic side. The haul included 30 assault rifles, including G-3’s, M-16’s and FAL’s, a couple of rocket launchers, a 7.62 caliber machine gun (PKM) with 106 boxes of ammo containing 700 rounds each, a submachine gun, a couple of Chinese grenade launchers, with grenades, and some flares and scopes. The home was the property of a Panamanian originally from Italy. A combination of Panamanian police groups had had their eye on it. The brother of the owner is a high officer in a wharf group that operates the Colon Port terminal which not too long ago was cited by Panamanian legislator Miguel Bush as a conduit for arms traffic. Presumably, the account in El Panama America by Enrique Watts Rios said, the arms came into Panama from Colombia, declining to reveal more about the police sources of this particular information. …."
The New Australian 9/27-10/4/99 Larry Elgin "....Not too long ago, on 28 July, 1999, an interagency Panamanian police force seized a cache of heavy weapons at a waterfront home located just minutes in driving time from the Canal on the Atlantic side. The haul included 30 assault rifles, including G-3's, M-16's and FAL's, a couple of rocket launchers, a 7.62 caliber machine gun (PKM) with 106 boxes of ammo containing 700 rounds each, a submachine gun, a couple of Chinese grenade launchers, with grenades, and some flares and scopes. The home was the property of a Panamanian originally from Italy. A combination of Panamanian police groups had had their eye on it. The brother of the owner is a high officer in a wharf group that operates the Colon Port terminal which not too long ago was cited by Panamanian legislator Miguel Bush as a conduit for arms traffic. Presumably, the account in El Panama America by Enrique Watts Rios said, the arms came into Panama from Colombia, declining to reveal more about the police sources of this particular information. This is a confluence of events that could alarm an American observer if he were to take seriously the warning constantly given, in his Panama Canal testimony and elsewhere, by U.S. Defense - American Victory Honorary Chairman, Admiral Tom Moorer, that we must assess our strategic situation, not by what a potential strategic foe signals by way of intentions, but rather by what it has the capacity to do should it so choose. Thus, a seemingly minor incident of this sort, but one which demonstrates sufficient armament in place to enable the destruction and crippling of the Panama Canal, perhaps by something so simple as a ride in a cigarette boat, when coupled with overtones of high level Panamanian ties to communist Chinese dominated entities, Colombia with its drug lords and perhaps even other illicit ties, is cause for closer scrutiny. As Admiral Moorer has pointed out, we must be concerned with a potential foe's capabilities, not his presumed intentions to use them or not......The narcotrafficantes, the eternal revolutionists of Latin America, the gangsters whom they have allied with in the rest of the world, the aging leaders of the Chinese communist party, desperate to hang onto power, all want to destroy that America, which, as John Adams said afterwards, was created in the 20 years leading to our Revolution, not on the battlefields which then became the focus, but in the hearts and minds of those who founded us and wrote our principles eternally into the souls of those who love liberty. - and were and are willing to fight to preserve it. Their potential for use as a proxy in the ancient tradition of Sun Tzu's precepts is such that it must be examined. The even more dangerous possibility is the combination of such a proxy effort with Bill Clinton's loathing of our military. There is now incontrovertible proof that he has, at the very least, shown suspect judgment in dealing with known PLA operatives and agents, including campaign donors from (ironically for a child of the 1960"s) this greatest military industrial complex the world has ever known. He is a fertile target for the subtle practitioner. His well-known temper, his willingness to be bought, his intemperate hunger for immediate satisfaction, all are the perfect invitation for the unnoticed potions of the Taoist thinkers of the PLA. They, like the elder brother, appear to be using potions of an ancient style of warfare that are little noticed outside of their own village, and our President is the ideal target for such use......"
Associated Press 10/5/99 David Briscoe ".....Americans will not stand for Chinese control of the Panama Canal, a group that includes retired military officers said today. Dumping a four-foot-high pile of 250,000 petitions near the Capitol Building, the group opposed to a Hong Kong business's lease on canal ports appealed to Congress to ensure the canal stays open to U.S. shipping. Under a 1977 agreement, the last U.S. forces are pulling out of Panama on Dec. 31, turning over the canal to Panama. The petitions call upon Congress to investigate claims that the Clinton administration has allowed China to become the canal's "gatekeeper'' after U.S. forces leave. "We built it, we paid for it, we use it,'' said retired Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs. "We want to make sure the Chinese communists don't gain control of it.'' Moorer spoke at a news conference on the Capitol lawn with other members of the National Security Center and several members of Congress concerned about the canal's future. The center, which includes 80 retired military officers on its advisory board, has been stirring concern about U.S. turnover of the canal to Panama. "The United States and Panama have a joint regard for democracy and freedom ... and we do not want to see it weakened by outside influence from China,'' said Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga. ...."
South China Morning Post 10/13/99 Greg Torode "....Hutchison Whampoa is taking urgent steps to protect itself from intensifying political attack in Washington over its Panama Canal operations. The company is negotiating with several lobby firms in the capital to quell claims it is at the heart of a mainland bid to eventually control the strategic shipping route. "We are increasingly worried about the situation and we are taking steps to ensure our side of the story is firmly and effectively put across to stop all this," one official said. "It is not good for us or Hong Kong in the long term. It is all quite ridiculous and we are talking to people who know Washington a lot better than we do." ...... Senior Republican figures, such as Senate Majority leader Trent Lott and former defence secretary Caspar Weinberger, have named Hutchison as a major People's Liberation Army security threat once American forces pull out of the canal in December. Open hearings of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives are expected to start by the end of the month. Committee members are understood to have met intelligence officials last week to discuss the situation. Further attention is expected this week with the arrival in Washington of new Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, who has refused to allow any future stationing of United States troops. ....... He described the Hutchison deal as the "biggest threat" to the canal's continued security and raised the prospect of the firm using a "trumped-up reason" to shut it to US traffic. Hutchison has fiercely denied the reports, insisting it has no links to the PLA, no ability to control the canal and no interest in doing so. ...."
Wall Street Journal 10/15/99 Peter Wonacott "....U.S. congressional scrutiny of a well-known Hong Kong conglomerate's operations in Panama point to a new wariness toward this city in some quarters of Washington following its return to Chinese rule. In the next few weeks, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee will discuss a Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. subsidiary's right to run two container ports at the Atlantic and Pacific entrances of the strategic Panama Canal. The hearing comes at the behest of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who warned of "security risks" posed by the Hong Kong company. In August, Mr. Lott wrote to U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen that "U.S. naval ships will be at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots and could even be denied passage through the canal by Hutchison, an arm of the People's Liberation Army.".... Hong Kong-listed Hutchison, one of the territory's oldest companies, has no known links to the PLA. And the city is home to hundreds of publicly listed companies with billions of dollars invested in China. Relationships between those companies' senior executives and Chinese officials are more the rule than the exception. Still, U.S. legislators have cited concerns that Hutchison's controlling shareholder, billionaire Li Ka-shing, has close ties to China's leadership...."
Wall Street Journal 10/15/99 Peter Wonacott "....The congressional concern is the latest manifestation of a China phobia sweeping conservative political circles in the U.S. Once beyond suspicion, Hong Kong is now lumped together with its mainland ruler in the eyes of many U.S. politicians. Those suspicions increased after recent allegations that Hong Kong companies may have helped China acquire sensitive U.S. technology, a charge Hong Kong officials vigorously deny. ..... For the sprawling conglomerate, with operations in China and around the world, dissecting the business empire for U.S. officials will not be easy. Aside from 19 port operations in six countries, Hutchison also has an international telecommunications business and an extensive property portfolio. Its stock, listed in both London and Hong Kong, is widely held by international investors. About half the shares are owned by Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., a property and industrial conglomerate controlled by Mr. Li and his family. Hutchison executives say mainland Chinese interests hold no more than 1% ownership in either company......"
Miami Herald 10/11/99 Glenn Garvin "....The Clinton administration has quietly decided to throw in $160 million cash when it turns over the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government at the end of the year, a decision that has led some alarmed political leaders in both countries to predict a wild spending spree....The money is earmarked for long-term improvements to the canal, but some officials fear that Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso's government -- short on cash because its populist economic policies have made international loans hard to come by -- may divert the money to social programs. ``If that money is handed over, unencumbered, to the Panamanian government, it will represent a tremendous temptation,'' said Ricardo Arias Calderon, head of Panama's Christian Democratic Party. The decision to give the Panamanians the money, which is held in a U.S. Treasury account intended to fund long-term improvements to the canal, has stirred anger on Capitol Hill, where legislators see it as not only a giveaway but a violation of congressional authority over spending. ...."
AP 10/12/99 ".....The Panamanian government will invite Cuban leader Fidel Castro to attend ceremonies marking the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal in December, the country's ambassador to Cuba said. Ambassador Marcos Alarcon told reporters that "independent of ideological differences,'' Panama maintains excellent relations with Cuba. ..."
Washington Times 10/12/99 Bruce Fein ".....Mischief seems afoot along the Panama Canal as its scheduled delivery to the government of Panama on Dec. 31 approaches. Fulfillment of Panama's treaty obligations is in doubt. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, has called for hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee chaired by Sen. John Warner, Virginia Republican. An unstarry-eyed examination of potential threats to the openness and neutrality of the Canal and the right of United States warships to expedited treatment during emergencies - all guaranteed by the Permanent Neutrality Treaty - is warranted. What should be sought is not humiliation or denigration of Panama, but joint measures to dispel serious concerns about the canal's safety, neutrality, and operations. They are not contrived. The notorious Colombian narco-terrorist organization, FARC, circulates freely in Southern Panama with means of sabotaging the Canal. Panama lacks a military, and its police are both corrupt and incapable of arresting FARC's activities.....A danger equally worrisome is Panama Law No. 5 of Jan. 16, 1997. It grants a 25-year renewable concession to the Panama Ports Co. for "development, construction, operation, administration and management of the terminals and containers, ro-ro, passengers, bulk cargo and general cargo in the Ports of Balboa and Cristobal." The Ports Co. is controlled by Hong Kong based Hutchison-Whampoa, an ostensible commercial entity. But all may not be what appears. The meticulous Cox Committee report on Chinese espionage and acquisition of militarily sensitive technology in the United States found that thousands of apparent commercial enterprises were fronts for the Chinese government. Any line between the military and the commercial or civilian in China is specious; the government of the People's Republic of China controls everything it wishes to control. The Ports Co. concession contract might be exploited by the PRC to conduct spying against the United States, to preposition military equipment, or to undertake other hostile measures against American national security interests....."
UPI Focus 10/19/99 "..... With the United States' ceding of the Panama Canal barely two months away, the White House on Tuesday rejected Republican warnings of a looming Chinese takeover as "silly stuff." "That is the kind of silly stuff that gets out from time to time in this town," White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said of widespread concerns among conservatives that a company closely tied to the Beijing government has been granted a key contract for operating ports at both ends of the canal. Lockhart defended the administration's handling of the U.S.-built canal after President Clinton met with Panama's new president, Mireya Moscoso, spending much of their 45-minute White House session discussing the 52-mile waterway's scheduled change to Panamanian control at the end of the year... And despite its close ties to the Chinese government, Lockhart said, Hutchison Whampoa is "the largest company in the world doing this kind of business. So it was no surprise that they won this business." A White House official said there is "ample evidence that this company is a legitimate company in the business in which they're working on." The official added: "We are not concerned about this company."....."
The Reagan Information Interchange 10/19/99 Kenneth White "..... Second-hand information exactly confirms Virginia Taxpayers Association prediction almost 3 weeks ago (see release following) that Sen. John Warner's (R-VA) Armed Services Committee hearings on Panama Canal security after U. S. relinquishes Canal Zone authority Dec. 31 will be rigged to minimize threat of Chinese People's Liberation Army takeover of canal. The Hearing, reportedly scheduled for Friday, Oct. 22, will be almost totally dominated by pro-Clinton witnesses in person: a high State Department official, commanding general of SouthCom, chairman of Panama Canal Commission, Panamanian member of commission, and only one American concerned about keeping an active U. S. military relationship with the canal: Caspar Weinberger. Actual date of hearing and list of witnesses were not confirmed by committee staff at 9:20 a.m. today, Monday, Oct. 18. .....Most authoritative persons equipped to testify on U. S. side -- Admiral Thomas Moorer (Ret.), former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke at recent Washington press conference on subject, and Capt. G. Russell Evans (Ret.), author of two nationally recognized books on unlawful canal giveaway, will reportedly not be allowed to speak, nor will Richard Delgaudio of Center for National Security or Bruce Fein, but will be restricted to written comments only, although they asked to speak....."
Fox news 10/22/99 Tom Raum AP "....Marine Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, chief of the Southern Command, told a Senate hearing there is no evidence China has designs on the canal through Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a Hong Kong-based shipping company....... Lino Gutierrez, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemispheric affairs, told the panel "we have found no information to substantiate'' allegations that Hutchison Whampoa has ties to Beijing...... Caspar Weinberger, secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, told the panel the United States needs to negotiate with Panama precise terms under which the U.S. military might intervene to open the canal if it were blocked. The Panama Canal treaties, ratified by the Senate in 1978, give the United States the right to intervene militarily should the canal be closed or traffic through it hindered. "It would be catastrophic if there were any attempts to interfere with the operation of the canal,'' Weinberger said....."
Phyllis Schlafly Column 10/23/99 ".....Jimmy Carter never would have been able to ram through his two treaties giving away our Panama Canal if the Senate in 1978 could have looked into the future and known that, when the U.S. Flag is lowered on December 31, 1999, Red China would become its gatekeeper..... Don't expect the Clinton Administration to interfere with China's stunning beachhead in the Western Hemisphere. Clinton is hopelessly indebted to the Chinese and their allies in Indonesia for financing his presidential elections in 1992 and 1996....... Communist China is the greatest national security threat to America today and in the foreseeable future. At a major meeting in Beijing in 1994, China designated the United States as its primary global rival. China is rapidly building a modern war machine with 18 long-range and 140 intermediate and medium range missiles. It's based on espionage, theft, trade deals that include technology transfers, and cash provided by a $60 billion-a-year favorable balance of trade......"
Phyllis Schlafly Column 10/23/99 ".....In order to cash in on the cash-rich Chinese, Panama manipulated the bidding process, holding repeated rounds of bids, for leases for the U.S.-built ports of Cristobal on the Atlantic end of the canal and Balboa on the Pacific end. The 50-year leases were awarded to a Chinese Hong Kong corporation named Hutchison Whampoa operating under the name Hutchison Port Holdings. Hutchison Whampoa had come in only fourth in the bidding, after the Japanese firm Kawasaki/I.T.S., the U.S. firm Bechtel, and the Panamanian American company M.I.T. For exclusive control of the two ports, Hutchison Whampoa agreed to pay $22.5 million a year plus what one Panamanian called "bucket loads of money" under the table, and Panama's Law No. 5 was passed on January 16, 1997 to confirm the deal....."
China Times 10/24/99 "…..Taiwan Foreign Minister Jason Hu has left on a damage control mission to Panama after China mounted a fresh effort to further whittle down the nationalist island's diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said Sunday. Hu left here Saturday and is scheduled to travel to Dominica and Panama via New York, before returning on November 2, said foreign ministry spokesman Henry Chen. "Certainly the visit is part of our efforts to consolidate ties with allies," Chen told AFP……"
Fox News-Reuters 11/1/99 "….The last wave of U.S. airmen pulled out of Panama Monday, as Howard Air Force Base reverted to Panamanian control, bringing eight decades of U.S. air power in the Central American nation to a close. "It has been a good partnership, and we leave with pride in our hearts,'' base commander Col. Roger Corbin told dignitaries and reporters at a steamy reversion ceremony. Howard's closure marked the end of a U.S. air presence in Panama that began in 1917, when pioneer army fliers unpacked two biplanes at Balboa docks, at the Pacific coast entrance to the Panama Canal….."
INSOGHT Magazine 11/22/99 J Michael Waller ".....Four administration witnesses assured the Senate Armed Services Committee on Oct. 22 that a Chinese company controlling ports at both ends of the Panama Canal poses no security problem to the United States. Confidently and with a whiff of condescension they dismissed concerns that Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate whose chief executive officer is a prominent cog in the economic machinery of Communist China, could be used to the detriment of U.S. interests in the waterway. . . . . Then, toward the end of the four-hour hearing, New Hampshire Sen. Robert C. Smith, an independent, asked them the killer question: "Do you believe the People's Republic of China uses commercial enterprises to advance their military interests?" . . . . "I don't know," confessed Assistant Secretary of Defense Brian E. Sheridan.. . . . "I don't know," echoed Alberto Aleman Zubieta, the Panamanian administrator of the Panama Canal Commission, whom President Clinton tapped to run the waterway until 2005.. . . . "I don't know enough about it," admitted Joseph W. Cornelison, the U.S. deputy administrator of the commission. . . . . "I have no basis for knowing that," replied Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Lino Gutierrez. . . . . Never mind that all had just testified unequivocally that suspicions were groundless that Hutchison Whampoa was being used by the People's Republic of China, or PRC. Only Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, the Marine commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, answered affirmatively. And even he equivocated with a political: "I think so."...."
Reuters 10/25/99 Tim Gaynor "….A leading Panamanian cleric said Sunday continuing instability in the border region with Colombia could affect future Panama Canal operations, days after a senior U.S. military officer dismissed the problem as a local threat. "If Panama falls into instability, the Panama Canal could lose its users," Roman Catholic Bishop Romulo Emiliani told Reuters in Sambu, a small jungle town 38 miles from Panama's frontier with Colombia. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) chief, Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Oct. 22 that incursions into Panama by the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and right-wing paramilitaries posed "a localized threat to Panamanian sovereignty" but "no identifiable threat to canal operations." ….."
The Washington Times 10/23/99 Audrey Hudson "…..A Chinese-owned company set to control ports at both ends of the Panama Canal raises "red flags" that Congress must carefully monitor security of the strategic waterway after it is transferred to Panamanian ownership this year, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said yesterday. "It alarms me [that] these Chinese companies, frankly, they do what the government tells them to do," said Mr. Lott, Mississippi Republican. Mr. Lott spoke at an Armed Services Committee hearing to examine reported ties that Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. has to the Chinese military, and other security risks after the United States relinquishes control of the canal on Dec. 31. …..The United States also reserves the right to protect the canal, and Republicans fear the Chinese may close the canal and block U.S. military ships if they pursue that role. Former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said it would be "catastrophic if any attempts were made to interfere with the operation" of the canal, which has "enormous" economic and strategic benefits to the United States. The canal carries 13,000 ships a year, the majority of which are American….."
The Reagan Information Interchange 11/9/99 "...... Introduces Great news! Helen Chenoweth-Hage, of Idaho, has introduced the "Panama Canal Treaty Nullification Act," a joint resolution which would declare the Panama Canal treaties null and void. This legislation is so new that a bill number has not yet been assigned! The Panama Canal evacuation is continuing and will be complete at noon on December 31st 1999. Congress will be recessing for the year either this week or next. It will be very difficult to get a special Congressional session between recess and New Years, therefore we need to get this legislation passed now! ...."
Chattanooga Free Press 11/8/99 ".....If you were making an important business deal, what would you think if your copy of the contract said "Yes" but the other fellow's said "No"? You wouldn't go through with a deal like that, would you? Well, the United States is close to making a tremendous mistake on just such a deal as that -- giving away our Panama Canal..... But that "deal" should be no deal at all -- because the two sides have agreed to very different terms! The U.S. Senate voted for "the DeConcini Reservation" to provide for "unilateral action' by U.S. military forces if our country believes the canal is threatened. But then-President Omar Torrijos of Panama didn't like that. He wouldn't agree.....This is the way Mr. Carter described it in his book "Keeping Faith": "If Torrijos wants to, he can issue a reservation about what the Treaties mean on intervention in the internal affairs of Panama." Torrijos did. But the U.S. Senate didn't ratify Torrijos' version, and Panama has never approved the U.S. version. Without clear agreement, there should be no treaty and no surrender of our canal. But who's going to stop it? ......"
WorldNetDaily 11/12/99 William Bright Marine "….What is the price for selling out your country? For Panama Canal Administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta, the answer is about $10 per Panamanian. He joins the ranks of infamous Panamanians like drug dictators Noriega and Torrijos, who have sold their nation for money. Zubieta was Clinton's star witness who lied at the recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearings that Communist China has not been given U.S. ports, bases and functions of the Panama Canal….He is my Panamanian countryman, but his betrayal is of both of my countries -- Panama and the U.S. -- though that will not stop him from fleeing north when the results of his treachery show their inevitable result……"
WorldNetDaily 11/12/99 William Bright Marine "….When Comrade Zubieta first read the 50-year treaty signed between Panama and Communist China (Law No. 5), he was outraged. It violated the Panama Canal Treaties and the Panamanian constitution. This fact is indisputable. It was told to me by one of his friends and widely reported in the Panamanian media (La Prensa, El Panamá América, El Siglo) by former Vice President Ricardo Arias Calderon of the Christian Democratic Party. But that was before Zubieta's $24 million dollar deal to upgrade a former U.S. military base in Panama, Amador, for commercial development….."
Inside the Air Force 11/5/99 Amy Butler "….. The move of U.S. forces from Howard AB, Panama to other locations in and near South America could have detrimental effects on American operations in the region, sources told Inside the Air Force this week. The base was the primary operating location for the country's counterdrug forces and was under U.S. control for more than 80 years. All U.S. flights at the base ceased May 1, ending about 15,000 flights a year from Howard to South and Central America. Many of the flights focused on Colombia, where the source said, 75 percent to 85 percent of the cocaine and heroin entering the United States originates. The staffer said the military presence at Howard was also responsible for counterterrorist activities. One congressional staffer told ITAF that losing the base's radar facilities will hinder operations for a long time. "We cannot observe what is going on [any more]," the source said. "If we cannot observe it, we cannot interdict it." …."
Tribune-Review 11/11/99 "….. ``I don't know,'' said Assistant Secretary of Defense Brian E. Sheridan. ``I don't know,'' said Alberto Aleman Zubieta, the Panamanian administrator of the Panama Canal Commission. ``I don't know enough about it,'' said Joseph W. Cornelison, the U.S. deputy commissioner of the same canal commission. ``I have no basis for knowing that,'' said Lino Gutierrez, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. The above responses came to this Oct. 22 question from Sen. Robert C. Smith, the New Hampshire independent, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: ``Do you believe the People's Republic of China uses commercial enterprises to advance (its) military interests?'' Now, gentlemen, if you couldn't answer that question, how could you pronounce that the Chinese company with incestuous ties to that communist nation's government and military - the same company that will control ports at both ends of the strategic Panama Canal when ownership reverts to the Panamanian government on Dec. 31 - poses no security threats to the United States? ….."
Associated Press 11/23/99 George Gedda "…..Retired Adm. Thomas Moorer, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that China is preparing to take over the Panama Canal once the United States relinquishes control. He warned of possible Chinese use of the area to launch a nuclear attack on America. Moorer said China plans to seize control through a Hong Kong company, Hutchinson Whampoa, which has won the right to operate ports on both sides of the canal. He contended that the firm has close links to the Chinese military. Moorer commented at a news conference sponsored by the John Birch Society, a rightist group opposed to the treaties….."
Judicial Watch 11/30/99 "….. Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, will intervene in court with legal allies over the next few weeks to attempt to stop the implementation of the Panama Canal Treaty. Judicial Watch will argue that the Treaty and the Canal transfer are not valid on constitutional and other grounds. Today's Baltimore Sun reports that Mr. Clinton will skip the transfer ceremony in two weeks because he and his White House have been "spooked" by allegations that the canal transfer will benefit Communist China. Indeed, a company widely believed to be an "arm" of the Chinese military, Hutchison-Whampoa, was given strategic ports on both ends of the canal by the Panamanian government. Hutchison-Whampoa's head Li Ka-Shing. Li Ka-Shing is a business colleague of Wang Jun, the Communist Chinese arms dealer and "princeling" who met with Clinton in the White House at a fundraiser. Li Ka-Shing's name and Hutchison-Whampoa pop up repeatedly in documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Clinton Commerce Department. (Worldnetdaily.com reported that Mr. Li participated in the infamous Commerce trade mission to China in 1994, planned by alleged Chinese spy John Huang, and which involved late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Loral's Bernard Schwartz .)….."
Associated Press 11/30/99 Terrence Hunt "….President Clinton said today the United States has no second thoughts about relinquishing control of the Panama Canal and is confident Panama's government will do a good job of operating the waterway. "I supported it at the time and I still support it,'' Clinton said. "I think it's the right thing to do.'' He was referring to the 1978 Panama Canal treaties requiring the United States to surrender control of the canal and to remove all U.S. troops by Dec. 31, 1999….."They'll want to demonstrate to a distant part of the world that they can be a responsible partner,'' the president said. "And I would be very surprised if any adverse consequences flowed from the Chinese running the canal.''
Eagle Forum 11/99 Phyllis Schlafly "….. Jimmy Carter never would have been able to ram through his two treaties giving away our Panama Canal if the Senate in 1978 could have looked into the future and known that, when the U.S. Flag is lowered on December 31, 1999, Red China would become its gatekeeper. But that's what's scheduled to happen unless Congress takes immediate action to prevent it. Don't expect the Clinton Administration to interfere with China's stunning beachhead in the Western Hemisphere. Clinton is hopelessly indebted to the Chinese and their allies in Indonesia for financing his presidential elections in 1992 and 1996. China didn't need to send an invading army. Because of what is euphemistically called "free trade," China has plenty of cash to buy and bribe its way into our domain. Communist China is the greatest national security threat to America today and in the foreseeable future. At a major meeting in Beijing in 1994, China designated the United States as its primary global rival. China is rapidly building a modern war machine with 18 long-range and 140 intermediate and medium range missiles. It's based on espionage, theft, trade deals that include technology transfers, and cash provided by a $60 billion-a-year favorable balance of trade……"
WorldNetDaily 11/25/99 Lt Gen Gordon Sumner, Jr. "…. With the clock winding down to the legislated date before which the Panama Canal cannot be turned over to Panama, let us take a good, hard look at the situation there. For, up until now, we have heard little that is true about it….. But now the magnificently machined gates are cracking - and we are told that all is going well. The wonderfully engineered anti-terrorist system that we built to protect the Canal at the time of World War II, with steel coffer dams that are to come up by the force of hydraulics from the floor of the waterway to save the outflow of water from Gatun Lake should its holding dam be blown up, is inoperable. The hydraulic fluid has been sold on the black market - and we are told that terrorism is no problem. The maintenance has deteriorated to where the Canal, without dramatic reversals of the present trends, will be itself inoperable within a very few years, with refurbishment cycles for keeping the locks inactive during overhaul and upkeep having been reduced from 90 to 3 days. Yet we have just been told in testimony that the Canal is running like it always did. We should no longer be surprised at the prevarication - only that anyone with an ounce of sense believes these falsehoods….."
Media General News Service 12/1/99 Gil Klein "….President Clinton erroneously told reporters yesterday that the Chinese will soon be running the Panama Canal. By making the mistake, the president may have bolstered arguments by some Republicans who say that the Communist Chinese government is getting control of the canal. Asked by a reporter, "You're not worried about the Chinese control- ling the canal?" Clinton responded: "I think the Chinese will in fact be bending over backwards to make sure that they run it in a competent and fair manner. They will want to demonstrate to a distant part of the world that they can be a responsible partner. And I would be surprised if any adverse consequences flowed from the Chinese running the canal." But the Chinese will not be running the canal. The United States, which built the canal and has controlled it since its completion in 1914, will turn over operation of the canal and all of its assets to the Panamanians on Dec. 31. …."
Augusta Chronicle 12/1/99 "….One of the worst mistakes of Jimmy Carter's presidency was his insistence -- ratified by a spineless U.S. Senate -- on surrendering all U.S. control over the Panama Canal by 2000. So, on Dec. 31, a dangerous transfer of power occurs: The U.S. military (including important anti-drug smuggling units) leaves while Communist China assumes virtual control of the vital waterway. Incredibly, Panama's own president admits his country can't defend the canal. But President Clinton -- like Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman -- says, ``What me worry?'' Even when Panama recently proposed joint U.S.-Panamanian patrols to protect the isthmus after 2000, the White House turned a deaf ear. Former Reagan Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger sounds a clarion warning: ``The biggest threat to the canal is that in 1997 Panama granted a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. a 25-year concession to operate the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances at Balboa and Cristobal. (The U.S. claims the contract is improper because we entered a better bid, but nothing has been done about it.) ….."
Fox News/Reuters 12/1/99 "….Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that his company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd would control the Panama Canal when it begins operating container ports at each end of the strategic waterway. Li was responding to remarks by President Clinton, who said on Tuesday he did not expect any adverse consequences from "the Chinese running the canal.'' "We cannot possibly control the canal,'' Li told reporters in Hong Kong. "We are only an operator of container ports there.'' Li has strong ties to China. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns that this could eventually give China effective control of the 51 mile long canal once the U.S. military pulls out. The Clinton administration has repeatedly assured them that China will not take it over. Li noted the container ports were for loading, unloading and storing cargo and had no role in operating the canal. Hutchison, with port operations around the world, won a 25-year lease to run the Panama cargo ports after the United States cedes control of the waterway on December 31. ….."
World Net Daily 12/1/99 David Kupelian "….President Clinton admitted yesterday that the Communist Chinese will, in fact, run the Panama Canal when the United States pulls all of its troops out and relinquishes control of the vital waterway Jan. 1, 2000. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before leaving on a trip to the west coast, Clinton addressed the issue of the imminent U.S. surrender of the American-built multi-billion-dollar canal. "I supported it at the time and I still support it," Clinton said, referring to the controversial 1978 treaties signed by then-President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos, requiring U.S. surrender of the Panama Canal to the Central American nation at the century's end. "I think it's the right thing to do," the president said. ….."
WorldNetDaily 12/3/99 William Bright Marine "….Wednesday's showing of MSNBC's "Playback" with John Gibson featured a confrontation on the Panama Canal giveback which had Robert Pastor, Jimmy Carter's National Security advisor on Latin America on one side, and Mark Braden from the Republican National Committee on the other. No mention was made of Pastor's Marxist background and Soviet connections as revealed after the "fall of the wall," but it was more balanced than recent writing about the situation in one of the leading "mainstream" papers, the Washington Post. I am a dual citizen of Panama and the U.S., born and raised in the Zone with a Panamanian mother and an American father. I have a Panamanian wife and children who are citizens of both countries. I have been tortured and exiled by the dictator Noriega for speaking out for both countries. It is of great concern to me that "establishment" media such as the Post cannot be balanced and tell the full truth, while "alternative" media such as cable shows and Internet publications can…….. What the Post didn't tell its readers was that Prof. Pastor was also high up in the Institute for Policy Studies, now documented, thanks to Ronald Reagan and the fall of the Berlin Wall, as the KGB's subsidized institutional mouthpiece in Washington, D.C. It's funny how the Post and similar organs just can't find it in themselves to look in those KGB documents, even though they could have read them, with excellent scholarly commentary, at the local library. MSNBC didn't tell its viewers this information either, but one would think that it would be important to anyone's getting a full picture of what is involved in the giveaway of the Canal…….."
WorldNetDaily 12/3/99 William Bright Marine "…. I've got news for the professor: by far, a majority of the Panamanians would rather have the Americans around than the communist Chinese, the FARC and ELN, the narcotrafficantes or the Colombian military. This was made clear when the corrupt Balladares administration, in league with the Hutchison Whampoa communist front, passed the notorious Law No. 5 giving the ports and Canal functions to the Chinese communist front company without submitting it to a plebiscite of the Panamanian people as is required by our Constitution when a law amounts to a contract with a foreign government or its instrumentality. But then, of course, the KGB model for "development" of countries like Panama does not allow for such things as plebiscites, as Pastor knows.
WorldNetDaily 12/3/99 William Bright Marine "….The will of the Panamanian people was demonstrated, however, when persons associated with Hutchison Whampoa's Panamanian subsidiary, Panama Ports Holdings, in partnership with corrupt Balladares officials, sought to move in and develop the former American military airfield at Albrook as part of the Hutchison Whampoa operations. There was a great outcry in my country. The Panamanian people asked the logical question: What does a port company need with a military airfield?….."
Agence France-Presse 11/30/99 James Aparicio "….The United States effectively ended its almost century-long military presence at the Panama Canal on Tuesday, handing over its last and largest base in the enclave surrounding the canal to President Mireya Moscoso. Hundreds of children waved Panamanian flags as Moscoso received a giant wooden key from US Ambassador to Panama Simon Ferro, symbolizing the exchange of Fort Clayton, a sprawling military base that until last year was the headquarters of US Army South...."
Newsmax.com 11/17/99 Admiral Thomas Moorer "…For the last two years I've been fighting an often lonely battle against Bill Clinton and what could well be the deadliest sellout of America in our history. I feel today as I did on the eve of Pearl Harbor. America is in danger and we could face another Pearl Harbor - only this time it may be a nuclear Pearl Harbor. I am referring to Bill Clinton's decision to OK the imminent takeover of the Panama Canal by Communist China. For over 80 years, keeping the Canal under the control of the U.S. was properly regarded as vital for the safety of all Americans. Control of the Canal will give China the ability to block vital food and oil shipments to the U.S....prevent deployment of our navy in times of national emergency...and create an enemy beachhead within striking distance of our cities. Red Chinese J-11 attack jets - each of which can drop 13,000 pounds of bombs - launched from Panama can strike our cities. The notion that a U.S. president and Congress could allow this Canal - built and defended by the U.S. at an incredible cost in treasure and blood - to fall under the control of our avowed enemies, the Red Chinese - without a shot being fired - is incredible. Yet we are just days away from that nightmare becoming reality. The Canal is Vital for America's Safety Strategically the Canal is a "choke-point," one of four places in the world where a small area can block trade for an entire continent. The other three are the Suez Canal, the Straits of Gilbraltar and the Molucca Straits near the Spratly Islands. (In the past year the Clinton administration has allowed the Chinese to seize some of the Spratly Islands, and they are currently building naval facilities there.)…."
FOX 12/13/99 "…..At least 40 marines were feared dead and 40 wounded after 600 Marxist rebels, firing rockets and homemade missiles, overran a navy base on Sunday on Colombia's Pacific coast close to the sensitive border with Panama, naval sources said. The fighting around the coastal town of Jurado in the northwestern province of Choco came just two days before a formal ceremony in Panama to mark the U.S. handover of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government. It was one of the heaviest single clashes in more than a year and marked the latest surge in a long-running war that has killed more than 35,000 people in 10 years. The attack highlighted U.S. fears that increasingly powerful Colombian guerrillas, who have a heavy presence in the border region, may be tempted to launch attacks inside Panama and even on the canal itself once U.S. security forces depart……"
FOX 12/13/99 "…..In another incident, at least eight policemen and two town hall officials were killed when a combined force of the FARC and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) stormed the town of San Luis in Antioquia Province early on Sunday, provincial Gov. Alberto Builes said. FARC columns have frequently been reported crossing into Panama to smuggle weapons back into Colombia or collect supplies and have occasionally attacked peasant communities in the area. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army's Southern Command chief, Gen. Charles Wilhelm, warned that Colombia's three-decade-old guerrilla war could spill across its borders. He said the Panamanian Defense Forces were ill-equipped to deal with the threat of a guerrilla assault. ….."
INSIGHT Magazine 12/27/99 Dana Rohrabacher "….. The acquisition of the primary ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Panama Canal has enabled Communist China rapidly to expand its economic, political and intelligence presence in Latin America and the Caribbean region. This expanding presence on the key strategic choke point of the Americas by a company beholden to a power hostile to the United States poses a serious national-security threat to Americans. At the height of the 1996 "Chinagate" campaign-finance scandal, the Clinton administration permitted a corrupt bidding process, defined by State Department officials as "lacking transparency'' and "highly unusual." This corruption enabled the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, Ltd., whose chairman, Li Ka-shing, is a sometime business partner of the Clinton-crony Riady family and a close associate of the inner circle of Beijing's ruling elite, to be awarded the ports and adjacent strategic properties.
INSIGHT Magazine 12/27/99 Dana Rohrabacher "….. I have official documents showing that consortiums that included American companies outbid the Chinese company in the formal ports-privatization auction. Yet, when the corrupt Panamanian regime unfairly changed the rules to the advantage of the Chinese, neither the White House nor the Panama Canal Commission submitted a meaningful protest. At this same time, Panama's President Perez-Balladares reportedly was accepting large bribes from Chinese sources for granting entry papers for migrants from Communist China -- some of whom illegally transited from Panama to the United States. Panamanian officials have told me that tens of thousands of illegal mainland Chinese recently entered Panama. Although few speak Spanish or English, they are becoming a growing economic force -- and potential political force -- in many Panamanian communities.
INSIGHT Magazine 12/27/99 Dana Rohrabacher "….. Mainland Chinese criminal Triad gangs -- some of whom have ties to Chinese intelligence agencies -- are active throughout Panama, in partnership with the Russian mafia, the Cuban intelligence service and South American cartels in conducting drug and weapons smuggling. While U.S. military and other security forces have been withdrawing from the Canal Zone, Marxist narcoterrorist forces are expanding their power in neighboring Colombia and are developing a presence in Panama within striking distance of the canal. All U.S. military bases, where only a short time ago thousands of American troops were stationed to protect the canal and to respond to regional crises, are ghost towns.
INSIGHT Magazine 12/27/99 Dana Rohrabacher "….. It is essential to look at the Chinese role in Panama not only in terms of economic competition on the canal but as part of a larger strategic picture. During the last two years, I have traveled around the Pacific Rim recognizing what certainly is a long-term strategy on Beijing's part to gain control of the world's key strategic choke points. A "vacuum-filling" pattern seems to be evident: Wherever in the Pacific the United States withdraws or is negligent militarily, politically or economically, the Chinese Communists move in. This includes the Indian Ocean, where we see Communist Chinese bases in Burma; the South China Sea, with China's power play in the Paracel Islands; just north of the Strait of Malacca, where Chinese military ships and installations can be found in the Spratly Islands; and the central Pacific, where we find a major land satellite-tracking station on Tarawa. In addition to a growing commercial prowess in controlling ports in Vancouver, Canada, and the Caribbean, China recently completed military/intelligence agreements with Cuba to build communications intelligence facilities. The Cuban facility enables the monitoring of the U.S. Atlantic fleet and elements of U.S. Pacific fleet operations, as well as domestic commercial and military communications throughout the Americas. In addition, the Chinese are stepping up their military-to-military relationships with South American nations.
INSIGHT Magazine 12/27/99 Dana Rohrabacher "….. China's People's Liberation Army, or PLA, does have a defined military strategy for confronting the United States. It's called "assymetrial" or "unrestricted'' warfare. An important new book, titled Unrestricted War, published by the PLA in 1999, is widely read and discussed by China's military elite. The authors of Unrestricted War advocate that the tactics for a less-developed country to attack and defeat a superpower should include terrorism, drug trafficking, computer hacking and financial warfare. This warfighting strategy is enhanced by China gaining a long-term presence in Panama. Pointedly, in an interview published on June 28 in a Beijing newspaper, the authors of Unrestricted War cite Panama as a fertile example for no-limits war. They state, "A small country like Panama would have a chance to exploit [the United States]. It could use a no-limits strike [at the canal] to cause America trouble causing chaos to the U.S. financial system."
Antiwar.com 12/10/99 Justin Raimondo "…..It was, of course, to be expected that many conservatives would be outraged by the imminent reversion of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians: for years, they have been screaming about it, warning that if we didn't hold on to that relic of Teddy Roosevelt's "big stick" belligerence all would be lost. In the wake of the end of the cold war, however, it was easy to ignore them: after all, with the Soviets gone, who or what could pose a danger to the US in our own hemisphere? Would Fidel Castro suddenly launch an invasion, or somehow provoke a Commie revolution in Panama, and stage a takeover of the strategic waterway? Not bloody likely. But now, it seems, as the date for the official transfer approaches, there is a new outcry on the right that points not to the Fidelistas, but to an even more distant and improbable plotter - the Chinese! ….."
AFP 12/11/99 "….Secretary of State Madeleine Albright canceled planed to attend Tuesday's ceremony marking the handover of the US-administered Panama canal because of the progress in Middle East talks, a state department official said Friday. "A pivotal breakthrough in the Middle East peace process resulting from the secretary's trip there this week and the subsequent meeting of Middle East leaders in Washington next week made it impossible for the secretary to go to Panama," the official said. …."
Newsmax 12/9/99 ".....President Clinton says he's "comfortable" turning over control of the Panama Canal - and he corrected himself - not to Communist China after all. Whoever does succeed the United States in effectively controlling the vital waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will do so Dec. 31. Clinton's White House staff went into spin-control overdrive last week, when their president played right into the hands of opponents who charge it will be the Chinese who end up in control of the canal. Almost as he was walking out the door on his way to Seattle for the riot-besieged World Trade Organization summit, where China had hoped in vain to be admitted to membership, Clinton told reporters: "I would be very surprised if any adverse consequences flowed from the Chinese running the canal." That got him in hot water with his own supporters, who have been insisting China would not end up running the canal when the U.S. relinquishes control to the government of Panama under a treaty signed 20 years ago. Clinton went out of his way Wednesday to reverse his previously stated position: "To be fair, I think I may have misstated this earlier." ...... ''The Hong Kong company which got the concession to operate the ports will be responsible for loading and unloading ships,'' the president said in a televised news conference. ''They also do this in three or four ports in Great Britain. It's one of the biggest companies in the world that does this. "The managing director is British. Most of the employees will be Panamanian. ''So I feel comfortable that our commercial and security interests can be protected under this arrangement.'' ...... "
Associated Press 12/8/99 ".....Rebuffed by the administration, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., completed two days of hearings stacked with testimony against the 1978 treaty that gives up the canal on Dec. 31. Bachus said the administration ignored his requests for testimony from State, Defense and Justice department officials. Canal opponents also were seeking a temporary restraining order in federal court against any official turnover of the canal at the Dec. 14 ceremonies in Panama City. Officials have said the event would be symbolic, with actual transfer occurring at noon Dec. 31. The suit against the turnover, first filed in late October with President Clinton and 14 other U.S. and Panamanian officials as defendants, was being served Wednesday on the White House, lawyers said. Other officials had received notice earlier. Larry Klayman, chairman of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, said he would join in the suit filed by treaty opponent Larry Elgin, refiling it soon to seek a permanent injunction against the 1978 treaty that provided for the turnover. Congress approved the treaty, and any congressional action is unlikely despite a crescendo of criticism as the 20-year-anticipated date nears. ....."
Rep. Bob Barr's Media Release 12/1/99 "....U.S. Representative Bob Barr (GA-7) reacted today to President Clinton's admission yesterday that the Communist Chinese will soon control the Panama Canal. Following Clinton's statement, Barr sent the following letter to House and Senate leaders: "During a news conference yesterday, President Clinton told reporters 'I would be very surprised if any adverse consequences flowed from the Chinese running the [Panama] canal.' This statement is disturbing for two reasons. "First, the President has explicitly acknowledged what we've been saying all along. The unilateral U.S. withdrawal from Panama has created a vacuum which the Chinese have eagerly filled. The Communist Chinese have carefully positioned themselves as the leading international influence in Panama, with the ability to exercise de facto control over the canal at a moment's notice. "Secondly, President Clinton apparently sees nothing wrong with allowing a nation that ruthlessly oppresses its own people and regularly bullies other nations to control the single most strategically important piece of real estate in the western hemisphere. Of course, the naivete of this view is further underscored by the significant evidence that China's government has conducted numerous espionage efforts and illegal political activities against our nation......."
AP 12/8/99 George Gedda "....Former Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger on Tuesday warned that China may be preparing to assume control of the Panama Canal, a development that he said would imperil U.S. security. It would be illogical for China to "pass up a chance to acquire a major foothold in one of the world's three major choke points - especially if it can be done with little cost or risk," Weinberger said in a statement. China already has laid the groundwork for possible takeover bid through an arrangement under which a Hong Kong company controls the ports at either end of the canal, Weinberger said. That thesis has growing support among Republicans, but the Clinton administration insists the claims are baseless. Weinberger's statement was issued Tuesday to a forum sponsored by the conservative Center for Security Policy. ......"
World net daily 12/8/99 Charles Smith ".....White House National Security Council spokesman David Leavy concurred with Li, stating, "Responsibility for operation of the canal following the transfer will rest solely with the government of Panama. The company in question will have no control over, or role in, the operation of the canal." Nevertheless, sounding the alarm was Adm. Thomas Moorer, who warned recently that, with the U.S. Military presence gone after Dec. 31, a corrupt and defenseless Panama could well become a Chinese missile base, as Cuba was for the Soviets a generation ago. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart dismissed the analysis of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as "the kind of silly stuff you hear from time to time." Yet, according to congressional investigator Al Santoli, national security advisor to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., the greatest danger is not likely to be Chinese missiles in Panama. Rather, the most likely threat comes from a "dirty," unconventional form of warfare, which the Chinese will wage in the region -- by supporting mercenaries, drug cartels, crime lords and hard-core revolutionaries throughout Central America. ....."
Associated Press 12/7/99 George Gedda "…..Former Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger on Tuesday joined a chorus of conservatives warning that China may be preparing to assume control of the Panama Canal, a development that he said would imperil U.S. security. It would be illogical for China to "pass up a chance to acquire a major foothold in one of the world's three major choke points - especially if it can be done with little lost or risk," Weinberger said in a statement. He said China already has established a beachhead in Panama through a Hong Kong-based corporation, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which signed a lease arrangement two years ago for control of ports at both ends of the canal. The Clinton administration has said it has found no basis for suggestions by many Republican lawmakers and others that the firm has close links to Chinese military. ……"
WorldNetDaily 12/7/99 Joseph Farah "….I've got a bad feeling about this Panama Canal deal. No, it's not just that the butchers of Beijing are on the verge of taking over the most strategic and valuable piece of real estate in the Western Hemisphere. That would be bad, of course. But what really worries me is that Americans remain asleep to the dangers this development portends for them. They are asleep because the media dare not awake them. Worse yet, though, it's not just poor news judgment, I fear, that keeps the press silent -- even in the face of President Clinton's admission last week that the Chinese will run the canal operations beginning next month. No, there's much more. There's lots of money at stake. …..I've made some recent discoveries about Hutchison Whampoa that, I suspect, can shed light on why the U.S. media establishment has been so quiet on this epic tragedy unfolding in Panama. It turns out Hutchison Whampoa is connected beyond Beijing as well. It has joint venture relationships with network mega-media buyers like Procter & Gamble. Subsidiary companies involved in telecommunications have been capitalized by partners such as Rupert Murdoch, who runs the Fox empire. So, if you were wondering why the "fair and balanced" Fox News Network wasn't jumping on the story, now you have a clue. But don't turn on MSNBC in hopes of seeing the scandal unraveled there. No, Microsoft, too, is in bed with Hutchison Whampoa. I'm afraid the whole sad story, for anyone interested enough in searching, is pretty well laid out in the company's annual reports and public communications over the last two years. Most of it is even posted on the company's official public website. ……"
South China Morning Post 12/8/99 AP "….Former US defence secretary Casper Weinberger has warned China may be preparing to assume control of the Panama Canal, a development he said would imperil US security. Accusing the Clinton administration of complacency, Mr Weinberger said it would not be logical for China to ''pass up a chance to acquire a major foothold in one of the world's three major choke points - especially if it can be done with little cost or risk''. China had already established a beachhead in Panama through Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa, which signed a lease arrangement two years ago for the control of ports at either end of the canal, he said. …."
Stratford.com 12/14/99 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE UPDATE "..... Guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) overran a Colombian naval base near the Panamanian border on Dec 12. The raid highlights a new lack of Colombian military intelligence and is likely to precipitate calls for increased military aid to both Colombia and Panama. The incident will likely result in more U.S. intelligence aid to Colombia and force a reevaluation of U.S. involvement in both countries...... FARC has tried to draw the United States into its war with the Colombian government. Its latest attack will pressure the U.S. government to either increase its presence in Panama or increase its military aid to Colombia. Either case works to FARC's favor in that it heightens U.S. involvement in Colombia and thus leaves the Clinton administration's policy in question. ..... It exposed the massive intelligence deficit faced by the Colombians at a time when the U.S. lost its primary asset in Colombia, the RC-7B, and in Panama, Howard Air Base. The incident will force a reevaluation of U.S. involvement in both countries ...."
Electronic Telegraph 12/14/99 Jerry McDermott "…. COLOMBIAN communist rebels have attacked a naval base on the border with Panama, killing 45 marines, it was reported yesterday. The hostilities came as America prepared for the official handover of the Panama Canal today after an occupation lasting almost a century. About 600 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia launched the attack on the Pacific coast town of Jurado on Sunday. US military authorities are worried that the guerrillas could launch attacks inside Panama and even on the canal itself once America's withdrawal is complete……"
Taipei Times 12/14/99 Catherine Sung "…. With the US set to turn over the Panama Canal on Dec. 31, Taiwan and Panamanian authorities are quick to downplay possible Chinese influence over the future operation of the waterway, despite the concerns of some members of the US Congress. Some conservatives in the US Congress have railed against the handover, arguing that the Canal will be under Chinese rather than Panamanian authority. "It appears we have given away the farm,'' said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who has raised questions about the canal takeover with Secretary of Defense William Cohen. "US naval ships will be at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots and could even be denied passage," Lott said in a letter to Cohen. ……. Out of Taiwan's 29 diplomatic allies, Panama is one of the few that actually has substantial commercial ties with the island. "The mainland has increased its commercial activities in Panama in their continual efforts to poach our diplomatic allies," David Hu (­J¥¿³ó), the director of the foreign ministry's department of South American affairs, said. "While Hutchinson does not have direct influence over the operation of the canal, they may use other means that may have an indirect effect," Hu said. There is also the question of how the strengthening of Chinese-Panamanian ties would affect the Central American nation's relations with Taiwan. ….."
Pittsburgh Post Gazette 12/12/99 Jack Kelly "…. It must have been a slip of the tongue. A reporter asked President Clinton Nov. 30 if he was worried the Chinese might gain control of the Panama Canal…. "I think the Chinese will in fact be bending over backwards to make sure they run it in a competent and fair manner," he responded. Surely the president meant the Panamanians, who - at noon on Dec. 31 will take possession of the Panama Canal - not the Chinese. But when a White House spokesman was asked about Clinton's comments, he said the president stood by his remarks……. Intelligence officials say there is little likelihood China would establish a military presence in Panama, or ever attempt to shut down the canal. But American influence in one of the world's most important chokepoints is being supplanted by Chinese influence. ……. A more serious threat than the Chinese is terrorism. A shoulder-fired missile could sink a ship in transit, blocking the canal. A few pounds of plastic explosive could disable the locks. If the Gatun dam were breached, the canal would be flooded, rendered useless for years. Since Panama has no army - we destroyed the Guardia Nacional when we ousted the dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989 - the withdrawal of U.S. troops means there is no effective defense against an even moderately well armed terrorist group….."
Washington Weekly 12/13/99 Admiral Thomas Morrer USN (Ret.) "…. I have testified several times before several Congressional Committees and I am very gratified to be allowed once more. I am hopeful that today's hearings will begin at last, to develop specifics as to why the developments at the Panama Canal, and in particular the U.S. policy towards Panama, deserve more attention from Congress. I am hopeful that today's work will persuade Senators to consider a change in U.S. policy. In 1978, I testified before this Committee concerning the ill advised Canal Treaty. I stated: "The defense and use of the Panama Canal is wrapped inextricably with the overall global strategy of the United States and the security of the free world. I stated that if the United States opts to turn over full responsibility for the maintenance and operation of such an important waterway to a small, resource-poor, and unstable country as Panama and then withdraws all US presence, a vacuum will be quickly filled by proxy or directly by the Soviet Union, as is their practice in every opportunity." However, not the Soviet Union but the Chinese Communists have filled this vacuum. The Chinese have negotiated with the Balladares government of Panama what has become known as Panama Law No. 5 passed on January 16, 1997….."
Washington Weekly 12/13/99 Marvin Lee "…..Ten percent of the Panama Ports Company that runs the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal is owned by China Resources, identified by the Thompson Committee as "an agent of espionage... for China." The FBI debriefing notes of John Huang, that were kept secret by the Justice Department for almost a year, revealed that China Resources also financed a Lippo-organized trip to Asia by then-governor Bill Clinton in 1985. Shen Jueren, the Communist official who heads China Resources, and Li Ka-shing, owner of Hutchinson Whampoa that owns the Panama Ports Company, are both partners in the Riady family's Hong Kong Chinese Bank, where Chinese spy John Huang started his career. He later advanced to a sensitive position with security clearance (without a background check) in the Clinton administration. James Riady helped Clinton get elected in both 1992 and 1996. …."
The Independent 12/12/99 David Wastell "…. President Clinton and his Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, are to boycott the ceremonial handover of the Panama Canal on Tuesday amid American concern that the deal is handing influence over the strategic waterway to China. …… American unease at losing control of the Panama Canal, which has been under US protection since troops were dispatched to defend it in 1911, is reflected in the fact that Mr Clinton will not attend the celebrations on Tuesday, even though his diary leaves him free to do so. …… However, Al Santoli, a special security adviser to the Republican congressman Dana Rohrbacher, one of the White House's most vociferous critics on China, said last night: "No matter how many Brits there may be in the company, it is a Hong Kong company and Hong Kong is part of China. Li Ka-shing is trusted by the Chinese leadership. He is a board member of China's international trade and investment corporation, which is known by the US Congress as an important investment arm of the Chinese government and military. ….."
New York Times 12/12/99 Adam Clymer "…..At the beginning of the century, President Theodore Roosevelt not only drove home the importance of the Panama Canal to America's becoming a great power, he also felt so strongly about it that he drove a steam shovel that helped dig the engineering marvel of his age. Now, as the century ends, another president, Bill Clinton, is having trouble finding a United States official to give it away, a problem that more than anything reflects how the canal has receded in importance -- militarily, economically and, above all, politically. Even as the administration describes the moment of the handover as a signal one in relations with Latin America, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said she would not go, apparently because she preferred to be in Washington for Middle East peace talks. The American delegation will instead be led by Jimmy Carter, who was president in 1978 when the Senate decided, with only one vote to spare, to approve the treaties giving away the canal, which cost the United States $352 million and 5,609 lives to build….."
Newsmax 12/13/99 "….. "Sometimes I cannot stop wondering why the American president is in the Chinese back pocket," Chung told the audience. "I see that anything China's government asks, this White House, this administration, they always give it to them. I wonder why." Chung warned that the return of the Panama Canal could spell trouble for the US, especially in light of reports that the shipping company Hutchison Whampoa, which is based in Hong Kong and said to be privately owned, will control ports at both ends of the strategic waterway. "There's no such thing as a private business in China," said Chung. "Every business is owned by the state. So if anybody tried to tell me that the Panama Canal won't be controlled by the Chinese government, I would say, 'Baloney!'" Chung added, "the Communists in China are totally different than us. Don't trust them. A contract means nothing to them." ….."
AP 12/15/99 Eloy Aguilar "....Standing before mammoth container ships rising and falling on their path between the seas, former President Jimmy Carter presided over a commemoration yesterday of the transfer of the Panama Canal, an act he set in motion 22 years ago. President Clinton did not attend the event, nor did any top U.S. official. The White House had said Mr. Clinton - who spent the day in Washington - would be in Northern Ireland during the ceremony. The trip never materialized. But his absence at the ceremony upset many in Panama, who said he was succumbing to pressures from U.S. conservatives. Mr. Clinton insisted his decision had nothing to do with politics....."
WorldNetDaily.com 12/16/99 Charles Smith "…..Former President Jimmy Carter, ending nearly a century of U.S. control of the American-built canal, stated at the conclusion of Tuesday's formal transfer ceremony in Panama, "It is yours." …… Nevertheless, the transfer of the Panama Canal to Chinese operators is viewed as a serious threat by some on Capitol Hill. As exemplified by a recent report issued by House investigator Al Santoli and Senate investigator Jim Doran, titled "The Panama Canal in Transition," there is a growing concern in Congress over a new threat south of the border. In Panama, where government corruption is rampant, there is a dangerous convergence of well-financed Chinese and Russian mobs with Cuban government operatives and Latin American drug lords, leftist and narco-terrorist militants," states the report. Doran is the Asia-Pacific specialist for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, while Santoli is national security advisor to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. This dark partnership is a threat to democracy in Panama and in neighboring countries, and is a direct long term threat to Mexico and the United States," the report says. The congressional report adds, ominously, "The growing anti-U.S./NATO 'strategic partnership' of China and Russia poses an increasing threat. There is a well-documented history of both Russian and Chinese organized crime working as tools of their governments." ….. One specific threat presented by the recent Chinese operations in Central America, says the report, is a war of refugees. China, taking note of the large influx of illegal aliens into America from the south, has added its own people to the massive tide of immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. ….."
NewsMax 1/9/00 "…..Control of ports at both ends of the Panama Canal by a company with close ties to Beijing could pose a security threat to US interests, American intelligence sources warned the Clinton administration before it relinquished control of the strategic waterway ten days ago. The US Southern Command prepared the previously classified intelligence assessment, which was obtained by Judicial Watch and shared exclusively with NewsMax.com on Friday. The report reveals that the USSC was particularly concerned by Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company of the Panama Ports Company -- which was awarded 25-year leases for the Atlantic port of Cristobel and the Pacific port of Balboa. "Hutchison Whampoa's owner, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing, has extensive ties in Beijing and has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China's leadership," advised the USSC. That news could be particularly bad for America's key Pacific ally Taiwan, predicted the report: ….."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "….According to the Commerce Department's "Event Scenario," the meeting in Hong Kong [1994] included Li Ka-Shing, Secretary Brown and Ginger Lew from the Commerce Department, Maria Haley from the Export Import Bank, John Bryson, president of SCE Corp. and Edwin Lupberger, chairman of Entergy Corp…… Throughout Brown's 1994 trade meeting with Li Ka-Shing, mysteriously, there is a curious reference to an unnamed "Minister." No "Minister" is listed as attending the meeting, and the only government officials in attendance were Brown and his official party. The "Minister," it now turns out, is Li Ka-Shing……In "An Introduction to the Chinese Defense Industry," U.S. Army Lt. Col. Dennis Blasko, the U.S. military attache to Beijing in 1994, also concludes that the Hong Kong billionaire is very likely an unofficial minister in the Chinese government. "These new corporations are now directly subordinate to the State Council -- they have attained a position equal to the status formerly granted to only a few corporations such as the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC)," explained Blasko. "This new position gives their general managers de facto ministerial rank, although they are not called 'minister' in public," he concluded….."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "….According to an October 1999 "Intelligence Assessment" prepared by the U.S. military's Southern Command, Li Ka-Shing is indeed a "threat" to the Panama Canal. "Hutchison Whampoa's owner, Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka-Shing, has extensive business ties in Beijing and has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China's leadership," states the 1999 assessment. "For example, Hutchison Whampoa could threaten to shift some business from Panama to its facilities in the Bahamas, thus giving the company additional leverage over the Panamanian government." Moreover, said the U.S. military intelligence report, "Hutchison's containerized shipping facilities in the Panama Canal, as well as the Bahamas, could provide a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the west to the PRC, or facilitate the movement of arms and other prohibited items into the Americas." …."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "….Not only are both Entergy Corporation chairman Lupberger and SCE President Bryson listed as donors to President Clinton's political campaigns, but both Entergy and SCE -- now known as Edison Mission Energy Corporation -- also have direct business ties to Indonesian billionaire Moctar Riady, another key figure in the White House campaign finance scandals. And Mission Energy Corporation currently is engaged in a legal battle with the government of Indonesia over "corruption, collusion and nepotism" inside a U.S.-sponsored coal fired electric power plant located in East Java….."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "….According to the [intelligence] dossier, Li has "significant economic and political ties to China," including investments in a "power station, a highway construction project and a large contribution to Shantou University."……. According to the White House dossier, Li was "found guilty of insider trading after a widely publicized trial in 1984; he was not punished by the courts." The White House intelligence dossier states that Li is also a "member of the boards of directors of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC)." A 1997 Rand Corporation report sponsored by the Clinton administration states that CITIC is an "investment concern under China's governmental State Council." …."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "….According to a recent biography titled "Li Ka-Shing," the billionaire teamed with two leading members of the Asian "Triad" organized crime families -- Robert Kwok and Henry Fok -- to form the China International Trust Investment Company. In addition, the newly released documents show that alleged organized crime "Triad" gangsters were included on the 1994 "Presidential Business Development" mission. According to official U.S. Commerce materials, after meeting with Li Ka-Shing, Secretary Ron Brown sailed on an evening paradise cruise from Hong Kong with the "who's who" of Triad business families. …The Fok family leader, Henry Fok, is reported to be a member of the 14K Triad. According to Ed Timperlake and Bill Triplett, co-authors of "Red Dragon Rising," ……Robert Kwok reportedly leads the Kwok family businesses and is allegedly involved in the heroin smuggling business inside Burma. Peter Kwok, a business partner of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, has also worked for Li Ka-Shing and the Chinese army. In 1989, Kwok helped CITIC and Li Ka-Shing raise $120 million to buy a Hughes-built communications satellite for AsiaSat, a company part owned by the Chinese army unit called the Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense….."
WorldNetDaily 1/18/2000 Charles Smith "…..The documents show that "COSTIND Vice Minister Shen Roujun" met with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Loral Aerospace chairman Bernard Schwartz in late August 1994 just prior to the Hong Kong meeting with Li Ka-Shing. According to the Cox report, COSTIND Gen. Shen actively sought help from the U.S. Commerce Department in obtaining employment for his son, Shen Jun, at Loral. The Cox report noted that Shen later succeeded in obtaining both a sensitive position for his son and sensitive nose cone technology for the Chinese army from the Hughes Corporation. Ironically, Li Ka-Shing has been compared to the reclusive American billionaire Howard Hughes. William Triplett, co-author of "Red Dragon Rising", noted that the Hong Kong billionaire often works closely with the Chinese army intelligence services and with the Triad gangs in order to serve Beijing. "Li Ka-Shing is to the Chinese army intelligence HQ what Howard Hughes was for the CIA," stated Mr. Triplett. …. "The leadership in Beijing openly states that there are 'good patriotic' Triads," stated Ed Timperlake, Asian law enforcement analyst and "Red Dragon" co-author. "The merging of the Triads, financiers like Li Ka-Shing, and the leadership in Beijing is a nasty law enforcement problem. It is almost state-sponsored gangsterism." …."
Washington Times 1/19/2000 Bill Gertz "….The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is asking the Pentagon to explain why information contained in an intelligence assessment about Chinese activities in Panama was not provided to his panel. ``I am concerned that this Pentagon report was not mentioned during our hearing or subsequently shared with the committee,'' Sen. John W. Warner said in a letter sent Friday to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen. Mr. Warner, Virginia Republican chairman, said he would like to know why the report by the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Intelligence Center reportedly contradicts claims by the Clinton administration that the presence of a Chinese company near the canal is not a threat to U.S. security interests. The senator stated that he sent the letter after the intelligence report was mentioned in The Washington Times on Jan. 12. Mr. Warner also said he has ordered the committee's staff to obtain the complete, classified version of the report from the Pentagon……During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, held four days before the intelligence report was produced, several administration officials testified that Chinese control of the two Panamanian ports was not a problem and said they were unaware that Beijing uses Chinese commercial entities for military purposes. Marine Corps Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command, testified during the hearing he believes China does use businesses for military purposes. He said there was ``no evidence'' the canal was targeted by terrorists or foreign governments although it is a potential target……. The Panama Ports Co. is providing tugboat, ship repair and pilot services to ships using the ports of Balboa, on the Pacific, and Cristobal, on the Atlantic. The report concluded that it is unlikely the Chinese company's officials or employees ``would overtly sabotage or damage the canal on orders from Beijing, as it would be contrary to their own financial interests and would undoubtedly elicit an immediate response from the U.S. and the international community.'' But the intelligence document stated that Hutchison's owner, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing, ``has extensive business ties in Beijing and has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China's leadership.'' The Chinese may be seeking economic inroads in Panama designed to counter Taiwan's influence in the region…."
World Net Daily 1/21/2000 Julie Foster "…Just three weeks after the official transfer of the Panama Canal, Colombian drug traffickers are setting up shop again in Panama after a decade-long expulsion that began with the U.S. ousting of Gen. Manuel Noriega for his drug cartel involvement there. The absence of U.S. military forces has left the door wide open for the return of drug traffickers who were expelled a decade ago, and at least one Panamanian intelligence officer has admitted publicly that Americans have good reasons to fear what may be in Panama's future….. The discovery of mid-level traffickers' move back to Panama began early last year when the Panamanian coast guard stopped a speedboat, launching an investigation that uncovered a drug operation stretching from Colombia to the United States……"
NewsMax.Com 1/21/2000 Carl Limbacher "….. Conservatice Caucus Chairman Howard Phillips and Judicial Watch chief Larry Klayman are traveling to Panama the first week of February. Both Phillips and Klayman are preparing to bring suit in both Panama and the U.S. Their suit will seek to make null and void Panama's lease of canal operations to Hutchison Whampoa, a company with ties to the Chinese government. "We can prove Hutchison engaged in unfair trade practices to get the lease," Klayman told NewsMax.com. "It is in the best interests of Panama and the U.S. to revoke this corrupt contract," Phillips said. Phillips has warned that Hutchison's control of the Canal threatens U.S. national security. ….."
NewsMax.com 1/19/2000 Christopher Ruddy and Stephan Archer "…..The same Chinese company that recently took operational control of the Panama Canal is currently completing construction of the largest container port in the world in Freeport, Bahamas - just 60 miles from Florida. Several U.S. military experts say that the activities of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, in both Panama and the Bahamas, pose a significant risk to U.S. national security……. One port facility that has captured the interest of the Chinese government is Hutchison Whampoa's sprawling port facility in the tourist destination of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. According to the company's Web site, the port is located at one of the most strategic spots in the world because "Freeport is the closest offshore port to the east coast of the United States, at the cross-roads of routes between Europe and the Americas and through the Panama Canal." ….. In 1995, Hutchison Whampoa entered into a 50-50 partnership with the Grand Bahama Development Company, a privately owned Bahamian company, to develop and expand the small Freeport facility that had catered to cruise ships. Since then, Hutchison has helped dredge and expand the port, making it capable of handling the largest container ships on the high seas….."
NewsMax.com 1/19/2000 Christopher Ruddy and Stephan Archer "…..The company has ambitious plans to create the largest air cargo facility on land adjacent to the port. Hutchison has a 50 percent stake in the Grand Bahama Airport Company, which owns one of the largest airport runways in the world - more than 11,000 feet long. According to Powers, the runway is capable of handling the world's largest cargo and military aircraft. On 800 acres of wooded land adjacent to the airport, Hutchison plans to create the Grand Bahama Sea-Air Business Center - a center that could potentially allow for 8 million square feet in warehouse space……. Hutchison Whampoa's chairman, Li Ka-Shing, is also a board member of CITIC - the China International Trust and Investment Corporation. U.S. intelligence sources have described the firm as a front for China's governmental State Council……"
NewsMax.com 1/19/2000 Christopher Ruddy and Stephan Archer "….. According to Powers, Hutchison employs about 500 Bahamians. Only five managers are not Bahamians, mostly British nationals. None are Chinese. Bahamian officials told NewsMax.com they have noticed no increase in Chinese nationals at the port or on the island. Despite the strong claims made by Hutchison that China has no interest in their Bahamian port, evidence suggests otherwise. A review of the visitor's log by NewsMax.com at the company's main office in Freeport shows that Chinese government officials have been frequent visitors to the port facility. According to the log, China's ambassador to the Bahamas, Ma Shuxue, has visited the port facility at least a half dozen times in the past few years. He has also accompanied groups of Chinese government officials… The visitor logbook indicates Chinese officials have visited the port more often than officials from any other country, including the United States. The logbook also shows that on June 2, 1999, the Cuban ambassador, Lazaro Cabeza, also paid a visit to the facility. Cuba is a strong ally of China's…."
NewsMax.com 2/1/00 Carl Limbacher "..... Priceline.com, the internet name-your-price site that has been hawked by William Shatner, is going Chinese. Priceline has recently announced a partnership with Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that runs ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. President Clinton has admitted the Chinese have de facto control over the canal. Hutchison is headed by one Li Ka-Shing, a man close to Red China's ruling circles. NewsMax.com recently reported that Hutchison is completing the Western Hemisphere's largest container port at Freeport in the Bahamas......"
South China Morning Post 1/27/2000 "….Hutchison Whampoa has concluded the latest in a string of information-technology investments by forming an alliance with US-based on-line shopping firm Priceline.com. The two companies said yesterday they would establish a joint venture to introduce Priceline.com's "name-your-own-price" concept to Asia. The venture will have an initial investment of US$20 million. Neither would say how this would be shared. The deal marks a further acceleration in Hutchison's drive to embrace the Internet, coming only three days after it formed a HK$3 billion e-commerce joint venture with parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) and banking giants HSBC and Hang Seng Bank. Hutchison has forged a series of technology-related deals in recent months, including setting up Tom.com, an infotainment portal venture with Cheung Kong, and tie-ups with Japan's NTT and Global Crossing of the United States. ….."
Conservative News Service 1/21/2000 Lawrency Morahan "….Conservative policy-makers on Friday urged voters to make the Panama Canal a hot topic in the next election. "Insist that every candidate who solicits your support for the House of Representatives, the US Senate or the Presidency is commited to action on this topic," said Howard Phillips, chairman of the US Constitution Party, speaking at the 27th annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Phillips called on Congress to support Dana Rohrabacher's Resolution 186 which would nullify the current contract ending the US presence in the Panama Canal zone…… One of the reasons why it's dangerous that a company with ties to the communist leadership controls container shipping is "we don't know what's in those container, whether it's human beings or weapons or drugs or whatever," Phillips said…..Peter Leitner of The American Investigator said that the Chinese are slowly gaining influence at strategic "choke points" around the world, including the Straits of Molocco, the Indian Ocean, the Spratley Islands and the Bosporus. "The Chinese leadership takes a very long view of things," he said. …."
Reuters 2/10/00 Michael Chrisite "……Latin America's drug cartels are switching their smuggling routes back through the Caribbean as Mexico tightens the screws in the Pacific, the U.S. anti-drug czar said. The White House's chief anti-drug policymaker, Barry McCaffrey, who ends a two-day tour of Mexico on Thursday, told reporters that Panama in particular faced a full-scale assault from narcotics traffickers since last December's handover of the Panama Canal. ``They're switching back. There's a lot more now showing up in the Haiti, Dom Rep (Dominican Republic), Jamaica axis. Haiti is the problem,'' McCaffrey said in a briefing in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Mexico City on Wednesday night. …..``And then I think a huge problem that's going to change rapidly is Panama. I think it's a target. These criminal organizations are pretty quick to respond.'' ……"
Dallas Morning News 1/4/00 Todd Robberson "…..Todd Robberson was on a hot trail when he got reassigned to cover the critically important mid-term Chilean elections. Corozal Supply Depot was receiving so much military equipment being turned in in October and November that it could not be shipped out of Panama. A real dilemma existed-who would help the good old USA out of such a jam. Voila, our good friends the Chinese were at the ready. Whampoa Hutchison container port is only a short two miles from Corozal Military Depot and with the exit of military police in late September and early October only a privately contracted Panamanian firm manned the gateposts at Corozal. All it required to solve the problem was for turned in military equipment to be downgraded from A or B classification to H or X classifications and be reported as being sent to the Panama City Dump for disposal. They even took a few contrived photos of the disposal. The Panamanian truck drivers did not mind talking about their after hours work and were well paid for it. Hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of equipment thus vanished from the inventory of the US Armed Forces in a performance even magician David Copperfield would have had difficulty with….."
The Conservative Caucus 2/24/00 Howard Phillips "….. Excerpts from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of February 15, 2000 AMERICAN INVESTORS ARE SOUGHT TO PREVENT RUSSIANS AND RED CHINESE FROM BUYING FORMER U.S. MILITARY BASES IN PANAMA I returned from four days in Panama on February 9. The purpose of my visit (in collaboration with Larry Klayman of Judicial Watch and several colleagues) was to lay the groundwork for cancellation of the Hutchison Whampoa contract awarding control of Balboa and Cristobal (the ports at the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the Canal) to a company closely linked with the Chinese Communist government. We also have been working to build support for the reintroduction of a U.S. military presence in Panama, and for the purchase by Americans of former U.S. military facilities which might otherwise fall into hostile hands. * Action: If you are interested in bidding on former U.S. military facilities in Panama, please send a fax (703-281-4108) to Howard Phillips with details of your interest, including your name, address, phone and fax numbers…….. "
newsmax.com 2/24/00 Carl Limbacher "….Back in 1977, when Jimmy Carter was pushing for the United States Senate to adopt his Panama Canal Treaty, turning over the U.S. strategic waterway to the Panamanians, Admiral Thomas Moorer warned Congress that the Russians and other communist powers would fill the vacuum. Already we knew that Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, a company with close ties to the Chinese government, controls ports at both ends of the Canal. Now we learn that Admiral Moorer may have been quite prescient. As it turns out Russian and Chinese companies are reportedly bidding to take control of Howard Air Force Base, the former U.S. military outpost situated near the canal. Howard Phillips, head of the Conservative Caucus, a group that has spearheaded efforts to preserve U.S. interests in Panama, just returned from a fact finding tour of Panama with Judicial Watch chief Larry Klayman. Phillips says Panamanian officials told him that two Russian companies and two Chinese companies are bidding for control of Howard Air Force Base. The Panamanians are expecting to reap upwards of $3.5 billion from the sale……"
The New Australian No. 145, 21-27 2/00 Peter Zhang "…….Irrespective of what some have asserted, Hutchison Whampoa is an arm of the Chinese government. The company's chairman, Li Ka Shing, is an unofficial government minister. This fact is well known to US intelligence and President Clinton. And still Clinton insisted on the canal passing into Beijing's hands, even though he knew Hutchison Whampoa had corruptly obtained the lease……. To get a clearer picture of what Clinton has let the US in for let us turn to Chinese Defence Minister Chi Haotian who said that war with the United States is inevitable. As Chi well knows there is more than one way to wage war - and this is where the canal comes in. It provides Beijing with a base from which to create enormous mischief for the US while piously claiming that its presence is merely a commercial one. The word is out that acting through Castro's agents and Chinese crime lords, Beijing is already heavily involved in running drugs into the US. To Beijing drugs are merely another weapon in its unofficial war against the US. Two other weapons are terrorism and subversion…… Clearly the tactic is not one of establishing pro-Beijing regimes but of creating a massive running sore that will drain US political and military resources that will eventually help drive it out of the Pacific Asian region, leaving Hawaii as its only Pacific base. This is not a fantasy. Why else does Beijing provide missile know-how and nuclear weapons technology to the likes of North Korea, Pakistan, Iran and Libya? Because it generates tensions and fuels conflicts that tie up US resources. Knowing all of this, why did Clinton allow the canal to fall into Beijing's hands?…."
World Net Daily 2/29/00 David Bresnahan "….. A multinational group of intelligence and military operatives are preparing men and supplies in the area of Liberia, Costa Rica for a possible operation in Panama, according to intelligence sources. While investigating the mysterious Jan.15 plane crash that occurred in San Jose, Costa Rica, WorldNetDaily was led to intelligence sources who provided some details of the operation on the condition of anonymity -- revealing an even bigger mystery. Former CIA director Stansfield Turner was nearly killed when the private plane he was in crashed. His wife Karen, along with Sigifred and Therese Richert, and Antonio Sanchez Diaz were killed in the crash. The pilot, Cleto Miranda Luna, died of his injuries on February 2. There were 12 others who were injured on board the plane and one on the ground……"
World Net Daily 2/29/00 David Bresnahan "….. Turner and his group were in Costa Rica as part of a secret intelligence operation, according to an informed source, who says the plane crash brought press attention to their presence, possibly forcing the operation to be moved. Whether the operation is still underway in a new location and the specific involvement of Turner could not be determined, but the source would only say the plans involved possible deployment to Panama. The flight plan showed that Turner's plane was headed for the Tortuguero National Park on Costa Rica's Atlantic sea shore, which is said to be near the area where the military forces and supplies were being accumulated. The plane was only a short distance from the airport when it exploded and fell like a rock from the sky, according to witnesses. It crashed into a house with three people inside, all of whom survived. …….. Asked the cause of the crash, the intelligence source said, "Well, let's just say it wasn't an accident," but he declined to give any details. He helped WorldNetDaily contact sources who were at the airline office and at the crash site during the rescue after the crash, saying it would help prevent future problems if word of the nature of the crash became public. ….."
World Net Daily 2/29/00 David Bresnahan "….. The airline source confirmed that Juan Carlos was the scheduled pilot, but he "was released against his will" just before the flight was to take off. The source said there was a heated debate over the replacement pilot. Carlos objected, but then he "suddenly stopped complaining and walked away," apparently because he was offered compensation to make up for lost pay for not flying the plane. The source would not provide information about Luna, the substitute pilot, who later died of his injuries. He told WorldNetDaily he was frightened and shouldn't have said anything at all. …..Press accounts at the time of the crash stated that Turner, his wife, and everyone on board were tourists. One of the passengers was listed as a tour guide, and the airline is often used for tourist flights. The intelligence source said everyone on board the plane had "intelligence ties." ….."
ETHERZONE 3/25/00 Barbara Stanley "…….As Admiral Moorer warned recently, the Chinese Communist have been working towards global dominance for over forty years. And Bill and Hillary were choice plums, to be funneled money, nurtured and picked when ripe. The Chinese Communists would create a company, removed from the mainland China, then use that company to build telecommunications, construction of strategically located ports-for transfer of both people (spies as 'students') and material, to come to the US to learn all they could about our high tech developments. …….. The notion that a U.S. president and Congress could allow this Canal - built and defended by the U.S. at an incredible cost in treasure and blood - to fall under the control of our avowed enemies, the Red Chinese - without a shot being fired - is incredible. Yet we are just days away from that nightmare becoming reality.
ETHERZONE 3/25/00 Barbara Stanley "…….Let us not forget, Hutchison Whampoa is the company who wants to supply you with two tickets to paradise via their partnership with Priceline dot commie. In addition, this company has cleverly infiltrated themselves into the heart of American business. From retail and manufacturing, to telecommunications and media. Even our real estate is at risk with venture capital being to fed build such things as new shopping centers and office complexes. While the horror story of the Panama Canal unfolds, (Pearl Harbor South) Hutchison Whampoa already has a foot hold on U.S. soil. They are partners with the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) which now has a long term lease on the Long Beach California Naval base. Beijing's insatiable desire to control the Panama Canal was second only to the successful acquisition of this Naval facility. The Long Beach base serves as an intelligence gathering operation for the PLA. Hiding under a corporate disguise, their base of operations is located near the Sea Launch project. Sea Launch will use the Long Beach base to launch dozens of satellites into space from equatorial ocean locations. RSC-Energia is a partner of Sea Launch along with Boeing. RSC-Energia is a disguised Corporation setup for Russian intelligence, just like COSCO is merely a front for Chinese intelligence. ……"
ETHERZONE 3/25/00 Barbara Stanley "…….COSCO ships have served as carriers for massive smuggling operations around the world - including the United States -- of weapons, drugs and illegal aliens. In addition, COSCO has been used by the Chinese government to ship missiles - and components of weapons of mass destruction to rogue nations such as Pakistan and Iran. Now, Panama's lease with Hutchison Whampoa, provides China's Communist Party with de facto control over the most strategic waterway in the West. Under Panama's agreement, Hutchison Whampoa will control port facilities at both ends of the Canal...they'll control who is allowed to pilot ships through the canal and can assign their own pilots...and they'll also be able to refuse access to the Canal by any ship for "business reasons."
ETHERZONE 3/25/00 Barbara Stanley "…….Worldwide, China appears to be progressively positioning itself commercially and militarily along the key naval choke points between the Indian Ocean [its bases in Burma]; the South China Sea [Hong Kong]; the Straits of Malacca [the Spratley Islands and a growing role in Cambodia]; the central Pacific [a major land satellite tracking station on Tarawa]; the coast of Hawaii [a major ocean mining tract]; the Caribbean [Cuba and the Bahamas]; and now the Panama Canal. Wherever in the Pacific the U.S. withdraws or is negligent militarily, politically or economically, the Chinese communists move in. In addition to a growing commercial prowess in Caribbean ports such as the Bahamas, China recently completed military/intelligence agreements with Cuba to build communications intelligence facilities adjacent to Russia's massive technical spy center at Lourdes, Cuba. The Lourdes facility monitors the U-S- Atlantic fleet and elements of U.S. Pacific fleet operations, as well as domestic commercial and military communications throughout the Americas. The growing anti-U.S./NATO "strategic partnership" of China and Russia poses an increasing threat. There is a well-documented history of both Russian and Chinese organized crime organizations working as tools of their governments. …."
Forbes 4/6/00 Elizabeth Amery "……. In 1993 the Panamanian government set up the Interoceanic Region Authority (ARI) to come up with a plan to develop this land as quickly as possible. Headed by former Panamanian president Nicolás Ardito Barletta, ARI has the formidable task of commercializing properties that have been used by the U.S. military for over 80 years. Barletta has had the most success with the Canal Zone's docks. Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd., a wholly owned holding company of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, won the concession to operate the two largest ports in Panama, one at each end of the canal. Hutchison is planning to spend $130 million over the next three years to improve the quality of the ports. Evergreen, the Taiwan shipping line, is building a port at the Atlantic end of the canal that will cost as much as $100 million. Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), of Seattle, Washington, and Panama-based Motores Internacionales opened the highly efficient container port Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) at the Atlantic end, adjacent to the Colón Free Zone in 1995. So far they've spent $120 million on building port facilities and are expected to invest at least another $100 million to expand it. All of these new private ports will be able to load and unload the new post-Panamax ships that are too large to transit the canal……."
THE WASHINGTON TIMES 4/5/00 Bill Gertz "……. Chinese businessman Li Ka-shing was planning to take over operation of the Panama Canal before the pullout last year of the United States, according to a declassified Pentagon intelligence report. The Army intelligence report contradicts statements by President Clinton and Panamanian government officials that the Atlantic and Pacific port facilities leased in Panama by Mr. Li and his Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. will have no role in Panama Canal operations…………. The Army report, from April 22, 1998, contains an article with the headline, "Panama: China Awaits U.S. Departure" and is based on a Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence information report. "According to a DIA Intelligence Information Report, Li Ka-shing, the owner of Hutchison Whampoa Lt. (HW) and Cheung Kong International Holdings Ltd. (CK) is planning to take control of Panama Canal operations when the U.S. transfers it to Panama in December 99," the report from the office of the deputy chief of staff for intelligence states. "Li is directly connected to Beijing and is willing to use his business influence to further the aims of Chinese government," the report states. It is labeled "SECRET/ NOFORN" - the latter term meaning no access to the intelligence by foreign nationals…….."
WorldNetDaily.com 4/21/00 Charles Smith "…..In addition, a 1996 State Department report contradicts Clinton administration claims that advanced communications exports to China were "civilian" projects. The report states that the Chinese army was keenly interested in obtaining Loral Globalstar satellite technology and the Loral purchase was possibly being financed by Chinese billionaire, Li Ka-Shing. The 1996 Department report was written by then-Ambassador to China James Sasser, a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee. The 1996 State Department report was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act……. The 1996 report written by Sasser alleges that the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Li Ka-Shing were both directly involved with the People's Liberation Army in financing the Loral export to China. "Already, foreign companies are interested in the new PLA-backed entity that is likely to emerge over the next year," states the report. "Recent press reports indicate that Hutchison Whampoa may be involved with the PLA about possible funding options." ……… Li Ka-Shing owns Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and is reportedly the sixth richest man in the world. Hutchison Whampoa is the shipping company awarded the contract to control the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. ….. Li Ka-Shing has been described by intelligence sources as a "Howard Hughes" for the Chinese Military Intelligence Department, or MID. U.S. Army Southern Command documents on the Panama transfer noted that Li Ka-Shing was an "indirect" threat to the United States. ……."
AP 4/24/00 "……Panama's foreign minister said his government may consider asking for international arbitration to force the United States to remove unexploded ordinance from former firing ranges, local media reported Monday. Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Aleman said Panama needs the issue resolved soon because it wants to draw up plans on how to use former U.S. bases in the canal zone that were returned to Panamanian control in December. Panama wants to use some of the former bases for tourism……."
THE WASHINGTON TIMES 6/9/00 Bill Gertz "……Panama is a haven for illegal drug trafficking and money laundering that has grown worse since the pullout of U.S. military forces last year, according to a law enforcement intelligence report. "Panama's corrupt and ill-trained law enforcement units continue to be overwhelmed by trafficking efforts and are basically ineffective in their struggle," says the internal report obtained by The Washington Times……… The failure is blamed on the country's new president, Mireya Moscoso, and "the U.S. withdrawal and turnover of its military bases and the Canal in January 2000." Panama's Tocumen International Airport has "a serious security problem . . . with internal conspiracies involving ramp and cargo personnel who facilitate narcotics loads," the report says……… Chinese and Russian organized crime groups also are using Panama for smuggling illegal drugs, weapons and aliens. "Intelligence sources indicate that Chinese and Russian organized crime factions are active in narcotics, arms and illegal alien smuggling utilizing Panama as a base of operations," the 11-page report says, noting that the number of Chinese nationals in Panama increased dramatically in the past five years……… The report also says a Chinese company that leased port facilities at either end of the Panama Canal obtained the concessions through "an unfair and corrupt contractual bidding process." The company, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Co. Ltd., runs the facilities at the strategic ports of Balboa and Cristobol, on the Pacific and Atlantic respectively. "Its major shareholder, Li Ka-Shing, reportedly has ties with the Red Chinese government," the report says. "Shen Jueren, the communist official who heads China Resources, and Li Ka-Shing, owner of Hutchison Whampoa, are both reportedly partners in a Hong Kong bank." China Resources owns 10 percent of Hongkong International Terminals, Hutchison Whampoa's flagship company, whose majority owner is Li Ka-Shing, according to a 1997 memorandum from the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong……… Senate investigators identified China Resources in 1997 as "an agent of espionage - economic, military and political." The firm also is linked to the Lippo Group, which was implicated in illegal campaign donations to the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign…….."
PANAMA
WorldNetDaily 6/17/00 Charles Smith "…..Newly released federal documents show that the Clinton administration was aware in 1996 that China was attempting to gain control of the Panama Canal. The U.S. Commerce Department recently released a July 1996 unclassified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Panama. The cable accuses Beijing of funneling money into Hutchison Whampoa, the company controlled by controversial Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing. …… "Embassy Panama has received information to the effect that HIT (Hutchison International Terminals) is controlled by mainland Chinese, perhaps through a Macao front which allegedly recently invested $400 million in HIT," states the cable. "Such control would have security implications and might affect the Panamanian government's views on awarding the port concessions." ……. Reacting to the information, Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., a ranking member on both the House Judiciary and House Government Reform Committees, sharply criticized President Clinton for ignoring the warnings about Chinese control of the canal. "This message proves serious concerns about Chinese control of the canal raised by the U.S. Embassy in Panama in 1996 were and remain completely ignored by an administration that wants us to believe all is well in Panama," stated Barr in an interview from his office inside Capitol Hill. ….."This latest piece of evidence is part of a systematic pattern of deception about the dangers posed to American and Panamanian national security by our unilateral withdrawal from Panama," concluded Barr. …….."
WorldNetDaily 6/17/00 Charles Smith "…..The Commerce Department documents also show that law enforcement agencies were very concerned about Li Ka-Shing's connections to international smuggling. A 1995 cable from the American Embassy in Nassau noted that Li Ka-Shing had signed an agreement to build an $88 million container-ship terminal in the Grand Bahamas. The document shows that the embassy in Nassau copied the cable to several law enforcement agencies including the Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency. "Reftel describes U.S. agencies' security concerns about possible smuggling attempts through the terminal," states the cable from the American Embassy. "Post will request via septel assistance in addressing these concerns while port development plans are still on the drawing board." ..."
WorldNetDaily 6/17/00 Charles Smith "…..The documents the Commerce Department provided show that the Clinton administration was aware in 1996 of the $400 million investment into Li Ka-Shing's company by the Chinese government. The Commerce documents describe China Resources Enterprises as "the investment arm of China's Foreign Trade ministry." ….. According to Sen. Thompson, China Resources Enterprises is linked to billionaire Moctar Riady and the Lippo Group. ……. Despite questions about illegal links to Beijing front companies and international smuggling, the newly released documents show that U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley, the newly appointed campaign chairman for Vice President Al Gore's presidential bid, met with the Li Ka-Shing at a 1997 luncheon hosted by the powerful investment firm Goldman Sachs. …….. The Commerce documents note that an informal "talk" between Daley, Li and several "influential business people" was held on the Goldman Sachs' boat Monkey's Uncle during a 1997 Hong Kong trade trip. Included in the meeting was Beijing-owned business CITIC, a firm directly linked to arms smuggling. ……"
WorldNetDaily 6/17/00 Charles Smith "…..The Commerce documents also reveal Li Ka-Shing's business dealings with the Chinese military. One document titled "principal subsidiary and associated companies," states that Li owns 25 percent of "Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company," a firm run by the Chinese air force. ...,, The documents show that Li owns one-third of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings, or AsiaSat, a company owned in part by the Chinese army. In 1989, Peter Kwok, the business partner of Robert Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., helped CITIC and Li Ka-Shing raise $120 million to buy a Hughes-built communications satellite for AsiaSat. ……."
WorldNetDaily 6/17/00 Charles Smith "…..The documents also state that Li Ka-Shing is directly in business with the Chinese government through the China Ocean Shipping Company, or COSCO. In 1996, a COSCO ship was caught in an attempt to smuggle over 2,000 fully automatic machine guns into the United States. COSCO is better known for its unsuccessful attempt to purchase the former Long Beach Naval station in California. In January 1997, President Clinton authorized four container ships for export directly to China. The four container ships were to be constructed for COSCO and Li Ka-Shing's Hutchison Whampoa by the Alabama Shipyards of Mobile, Ala. …..The four ships were to be built using $138 million in private loans backed by the U.S. government. The loans had very favorable terms, including low interest rates and a 25-year repayment plan -- longer than the expected life of the ships. ……. Li Ka-Shing's ties to China have also attracted U.S. military attention. U.S. Defense Department documents discovered by Larry Klayman of Judicial Watch, a Washington-based public interest group, focused on Li Ka-Shing and his company Hutchison Whampoa. According to an October 1999 "Intelligence Assessment" prepared by the U.S. military Southern Command, the Hong Kong billionaire is a potential threat to America. ….."
AP 7/5/00 "……Panama's leader affirmed Wednesday that ties with Taiwan are strong and condemned China's threats to use force to settle long-standing disputes with this island. President Mireya Moscoso's first visit to Taiwan came amid speculation that the Latin American nation planned to cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize China. However, a joint statement Wednesday issued by Moscoso and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said the two governments reaffirmed that they were "determined to continue their tradition of friendship and cooperation." In the statement, Moscoso criticized China's threat to use force to reclaim Taiwan, which since 1949 has refused to submit to communist rule. She urged China to work with Chen to find a peaceful solution. ……"
NewsMax.com 6/3/00 Stephan Archer "……. Since U.S. troops left Panama on New Year's Eve, the small isthmus nation and its undersized police force have been overwhelmed by crime, prompting some in Congress to try to re-establish an American presence in the region. …….. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., have introduced two separate but similar pieces of legislation that, if passed, could reinstate the American flag over the Panama Canal. The House Committee on International Relations passed Chairman Gilman's bill, H.R. 3673, on Thursday despite strong opposition from committee Democrats and a State Department spokesman. The bill, titled the United States-Panama Partnership Act of 2000, would permit the U.S., "for a period of not less than 15 years, to maintain a presence, alone or in conjunction with other friendly countries, sufficient to carry out necessary counternarcotics, search and rescue, logistical, training, and related missions at Howard Air Force Base, Fort Kobbe, Rodman Naval Station, and Fort Sherman." ......"
Newsmax.com 8/8/00 "……..The U.S. surrender of the Panama Canal has borne bitter fruit, two congressmen charge, and America is paying the price in the increase of drug trafficking, narco-terrorism and Chinese infiltration of Panama and control of the canal. And in a recent case, two United States investigators seeking to unravel the stunning abandonment of tens of millions of dollars worth of American military equipment left behind when the U.S. left Panama were ordered out of the country by the U.S. ambassador before they could complete their work. …….. Shockingly, the men were told to leave Panama just as they were in the process of reclaiming some of the property for the United States. The incident was only the latest example of the carnage caused by the U.S. abandonment of the Panama Canal and the 360,000-acre Canal Zone, as well as military property consisting of 70,000 acres and 5,600 buildings worth an estimated $10 billion to $13 billion, according to Rep. John Mica, chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources of the House Committee on Government Reform. The abandonment of the canal, he said, stripped the United States of what he called the "cornerstone of the U.S. military's counterdrug effort in the region" and has resulted in a massive increase of drug traffic into the United States. …….. And a U.S. Customs Service report added: "Intelligence sources indicate Chinese and Russian organized crime factions are active in narcotics, arms and illegal alien smuggling utilizing Panama as a base of operations. The Chinese population in Panama has grown dramatically in the past five years and the Chinese government maintains an embassy in Panama City." ……."
THE WASHINGTON TIMES 7/21/00 Bill Gertz "…… A former lobbyist for a Hong Kong company with close ties to the Chinese government will have access to the most sensitive U.S. intelligence secrets as the new national security aide to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. But despite growing concern in Republican ranks, Mr. Hastert is standing by his decision to name Nancy P. Dorn as his top national security assistant. ………. Mr. Hastert, Illinois Republican, is an ex-officio member of the House Intelligence Committee and one of the "gang of eight" congressional leaders who usually are briefed on the most sensitive intelligence and military matters. As the key adviser to the speaker, Mrs. Dorn would be the staffer privy to these highly classified briefings. ……… A declassified Army intelligence report stated that Chinese influence over the canal is a "potential threat" and that the ports could be used as "a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the West to the PRC." A second Army intelligence report stated that "Li Ka-shing . . . is planning to take control of Panama Canal operations when the U.S. transfers it to Panama in December '99." "Li is directly connected to Beijing and is willing to use his business influence to further the aims of Chinese government," the report stated. A Customs Service intelligence report from May stated that Mr. Li has ties to the Chinese government. It also said China Resources, a company that is a shareholder in Hutchison, has been identified by Senate investigators as a cover for Chinese intelligence activities. ……Mrs. Dorn rejected the concerns about her past lobbying. "I was not a mouthpiece for Li Kashing," she said. "I've had the highest clearances in the U.S. government; I am a patriotic U.S. citizen and I've taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. I have done that and I will do that now." ……."
THE WASHINGTON TIMES 7/21/00 Bill Gertz "…… An anonymous Hutchison official told the South China Morning Post in October that the company was hiring a lobbying firm to target Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Mr. Weinberger and Mr. Rohrabacher. Mrs. Dorn said Mr. Rohrabacher's resolution was a target of her lobbying efforts. Mr. Lott sent a letter to the Pentagon about the Chinese presence in Panama that raised concerns about a possible takeover of the strategic waterway. Mrs. Dorn said she sent a letter to the House ethics committee notifying the panel that she has severed all ties to the lobbying firm of Hooper, Owen and Winburn. …….. "It is my intention to work for the speaker as long as he and I both see it as beneficial," she said. …….. "
Washington Times 7/18/00 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. "…….What on Earth was he thinking? This is the question prompted by House Speaker Dennis Hastert's selection, announced last week, of a new national security adviser: Nancy P. Dorn, a woman who had parlayed her stints as an official in the Reagan and Bush administrations into a lucrative business as a registered foreign agent. ……… Not just any foreign agent. One of her troubling clients was, in the words of Insight magazine, which broke the story, "a division of a Communist Chinese company linked to Beijing's military intelligence." …….Specifically, Mrs. Dorn lobbied for Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. which is, in turn, owned by Li Ka-shing - a Hong Kong-based billionaire who reportedly enjoys an extemely close relationship to the leadership in Beijing and its security services. ……."
Washington Times 7/18/00 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. "……..So who did Li Ka-shing turn to in order to head off GOP efforts to reopen the bidding on the Panamanian ports in question and to limit other political fall-out - especially efforts that might have interfered with the plans he and his friends in Beijing had to expand Hutchison/ China's presence in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the hemisphere? Lobbyist Nancy Dorn. …….. It turns out Mrs. Dorn was also the "go-to" woman for one of China's leading clients, the military junta that seized power in Pakistan last year. Presumably, her assignment was to keep Republicans from making too much of a ruckus about the Clinton-Gore administration's systematic failure to fulfill legal obligations to sanction both countries over their cooperation in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and long-range missile technology. Whether thanks to her or others, that objective was largely achieved. ……..Perhaps Mrs. Dorn deserves credit as well for the lack of protests from the Republican congressional leadership earlier this year when Pakistan was curiously left off the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. …….In a way, an even more interesting question would be why Mrs. Dorn saw fit to take a significant pay cut to assume a position that may cease to be Mr. Hastert's to fill half a year from now? ….."