All of the content stated in this article is based on reliable sources of information, which are repeated at the end of the article
"I opened this mountain, I planted this tree, if you want to cross this road, leave to buy road wealth!"
This is the term of robbery in the middle of "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "occupying the road and robbing money" is the usual trick of ancient bandits, and there is such a small country in the international community, which makes a lot of money with just one canal.
Such a small country with a population of only 4.4 million is not only not easily provoked by the United States, but even China has to pay as much as 10 billion yuan in "tolls" every year.
The most important thing is that whenever the canal reaches the dry season, the country will "take advantage of the fire" without a bottom line, not only raising the charging standard, but also auctioning the "right to cut the queue", so as to collect wool from all over the world.
Source: Beiqingwang 2024-02-23 Report on "Panama Canal's revenue increased by nearly 15% in fiscal year 2023 due to water shortages".
So where is this country so arrogant? And how can the country easily "control" the world with a canal?
A river feeds a nation
The bustling UAE
There are many countries in the world with small populations, but they have a lot of wealth, and the secret of these countries is very simple, often with some rich mineral resources.
For example, the United Arab Emirates and Kadar, which made their fortunes on oil, and Morocco, which relied on phosphate and potash resources.
The Republic of Panama, which we are going to talk about today, has led the people of the whole country on the road to prosperity by virtue of the Panama Canal with the same name as the country.
Even now, the man who proposed the Panama Canal, which crossed the Isthmus of Panama and became an indispensable shipping route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, is unimaginably genius.
In fact, the Panama Canal was not built by the Panamanian state, but was built by the United States and opened to navigation in 1914, but for various historical reasons, it is currently owned and managed by the Panamanian state.
However, even the original builder, the United States, now needs to pay high tolls to Panama through this "world bridge" that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and is known as one of the seven wonders of the world.
It is worth mentioning that the Panama Canal, with its unique and advantageous geographical location, is responsible for 5% of the world's trade and freight, and you must not underestimate this 5%, which is an unimaginably huge number.
China is also the second largest customer of the Panama Canal, and a large number of Chinese cargo ships need to rely on this canal every year to complete transoceanic maritime trade with other countries.
As the second largest customer of the Panama Canal, China inevitably contributes a lot to the country's GDP.
According to relevant data, the revenue of the Panama Canal in fiscal year 2023 is as high as 4.968 billion US dollars, an increase of 14.9% over fiscal year 2022.
If the Panama Canal has such a strong money-making capacity, why would the United States, which worked so hard to build it, give it away? You must know that the United States is not a good stubble, is there any secret in this?
Panama "pulling teeth from the tiger's mouth".
In 1903, U.S. troops landed in Panama and forced Panama to secede from Colombia and become an independent Republic of Panama.
The reason why the United States is so "kind" to help Panama become independent is because it has taken a fancy to Panama's excellent geographical location and wants to build a Grand Canal in the territory of the other side that is enough to change the world pattern.
However, the Panamanian government, which has no idea about this, is still very happy to regard the United States as a "reborn parent".
The first president, Amado
Its first president, Amado, even shouted when he took office: "Long live the Republic of Panama!" Long live Roosevelt! Long live America! ”
Amado's act of "recognizing a thief as his father" has also become a very famous joke in the history of world diplomacy.
Fourteen days after Panama declared independence, the United States was eager to expose its sinister intentions.
On November 18, 1903, the Panamanian government signed a treaty with the United States on the construction of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in Panama.
Now it seems that the content of this treaty is very simple, and it is also very humiliating and humiliating, that is, after the United States guarantees the independence of Panama, Panama will permanently hand over the current Panama Canal and the land along it to the United States to occupy and control.
The United States only needs to pay Panama a lump sum of $10 million, and then pay $250,000 a year thereafter, which is almost the same as giving it to the United States for nothing.
Most crucially, the treaty stipulates that the Panamanian government does not allow the exercise of national sovereignty in the canal area, which is equivalent to the United States having its own "state" within Panama, and the Panama Canal becomes a state within a state.
In this way, under the strategy of the United States' "divisive plan", although Panama successfully seceded from Colombia, it did not gain complete national sovereignty.
After the signing of the treaty, the Panama Canal project began a series of ground-breaking projects under the leadership of the United States, and after decades of intensive construction, the sea trials were finally completed in 1914.
In the decades of canal construction, nearly 30,000 people have lost their lives for various reasons, including many Chinese workers.
The United States does not care in the slightest about this, and the US Government only cares about the huge benefits that the Panama Canal will bring to the United States after it is opened.
In the 60 years since the Panama Canal was officially opened, the United States has made a frenzied fortune of $45 billion by collecting tolls from passing ships, while the Panamanian government has only received $1.1 billion, which is not even a fraction of that of the United States.
At the same time, the US government also regards the Panama Canal as the "national gate" of the United States, and not only has a large number of troops stationed in the region all year round, but has successively established 14 military bases.
What is even more outrageous is that during the Cold War, more than 65,000 US military officers and soldiers were stationed in the Panama Canal area, and it can even be said that as long as the United States does not care about the opinions of the international community, the Panamanian regime is likely to change hands overnight.
In 1973, the Panamanian government, which finally got factic, asked the United Nations for help over the sovereignty of the Panama Canal, but the United States vetoed it.
For more than half a century, the Panamanian people struggled against US imperialism to reclaim sovereignty over the canal, during which there were many bloody incidents.
Finally, on December 13, 1999, with the strong support of many Latin American countries and third world countries, the Republic of Panama finally regained full sovereignty over the Panama Canal from the United States.
Later, Panama also relied on this Grand Canal, which was making money every day, and successfully embarked on the road of becoming a rich country and enriching the people.
But what many people didn't expect was that after Panama had absolute sovereignty over the canal with the help of countries around the world, the "eating appearance" became more and more ugly......
Crazy "wool" queue auction
Source: Huanqiu.com November 29, 2023 on "Too Blocked! The Panama Canal has also held a 'queue auction', and ships bid for 'right of way'".
For the Republic of Panama, the Panama Canal is like the relationship between water and fish, and almost all of Panama's development today is due to the Grand Canal, which was built by the United States.
After all, if the United States had made a "small calculation", Panama's road to independence would not have been realized so quickly.
The canal contributes greatly to Panama's GDP, and in the case of China, Panama can earn at least 10 billion yuan a year from the mainland, not counting the benefits of tourism.
However, as the drought and water shortage in the Panama Canal worsened, the Panamanian government began to reduce the number of daily boat traffic.
In order to expand profits, the so-called "queue auction" was even held, and freighters from various countries had to bid for the "right of first refusal" at a high price if they wanted to pass smoothly.
Even the United States, the former builder, is no exception, and there is only one way to get through the canal, and that is the one who pays the most.
Sources of information:
At the end of last year, after the water level of the Panama Canal hit a 73-year low, the canal's "right to cut in line" was coaxed up by ships from various countries eager to cross the border, and even set a record of nearly $4 million.
$4 million in tolls, which is a lot of money for any country, and the cost is growing.
Because the Panama Canal Authority announced that the number of places in the Panama Canal will be reduced from 31 to 18 per day, tolls will only increase under this hunger marketing strategy.
In the face of such high tolls, many ships say they will not be able to afford the cost.
But even so, the "right of first refusal" of the Panama Canal is still in short supply, which is the main reason why Panama, as a small country, has always been "arrogant" in front of the world's major countries.
After all, the Panama Canal is very important to all countries in the world, and it is related to the economic and trade of almost most countries in the world on a global scale.
From the beginning of the colony, to the independence with the support of the United States, and after more than half a century of "canal sovereignty dispute" with the United States, Panama has finally achieved its current achievements.
The Panamanian government is well aware of the importance of the canal to countries around the world, so no matter how much they raise prices, there will still be countries willing to pay for it.
It is hoped that the Panamanian government will cherish this hard-won happiness and that it will make reasonable use of the sovereignty of the Panama Canal.
Only by carefully operating the Panama Canal can we truly make money in the long run.
Key Sources:
1. The original article was published on Huanqiu.com on November 29, 2023 on "Too blocked! The Panama Canal has also held a 'queue auction', and ships bid for 'right of way'".
2. The original article was published on the International Ship Network on November 09, 2023 about "30 million yuan! The record for the most expensive 'toll' in the history of the Panama Canal has been refreshed".
3. The original article was published on Beiqing.com on February 23, 2024 on the report on "Panama Canal's revenue increased by nearly 15% in fiscal year 2023 due to water shortages".