SuS: this is likely undeclared Chinese retaliation for losing those Panama contracts, under US pressure.
>In March there were 179 vessel detentions under the Tokyo MOU, with 123 taking place in Chinese ports. However, the number of Panamanian ships detained by Chinese port state control was 91, compared with just 32 vessels flying other flags – which means that last month, more than half of all vessels detained in the Asia-Pacific region were Panamanian detained in China.
>In both January and February the proportion of Panama-flagged vessels detained in China was far lower than March: 25 Panamanian ships detained, vs 46 of all other flags in January, which declined to 19 and 26 respectively in February.
>Given that Port State Control detains vessels over safety issues, it could of course be a coincidence, how the correlation between the timing of Hutchison’s ejection from its concessions at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal and rising number of Panamanian ships detained in China is striking, and lends credence to claims from recently installed US Federal Maritime Commission chair Laura DiBella that China was weaponising Port State Control “to punish Panama”.
>“Given that Panama-flagged ships carry a meaningful share of US containerised trade, these actions could result in significant commercial and strategic consequences to US shipping,” she added.
>Meanwhile, in the daily press conference hosted by China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Friday, the government spokesperson was asked to confirm whether it was specifically targeting Panamanian vessels in response to the Hutchison saga – but she dodged the question, replying: “China’s position on issues related to the Panama Canal ports is clear. The US’s repeated wrongful allegations only reveal its attempt to take control of the canal.
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SuS: this is likely undeclared Chinese retaliation for losing those Panama contracts, under US pressure.
>In March there were 179 vessel detentions under the Tokyo MOU, with 123 taking place in Chinese ports. However, the number of Panamanian ships detained by Chinese port state control was 91, compared with just 32 vessels flying other flags – which means that last month, more than half of all vessels detained in the Asia-Pacific region were Panamanian detained in China.
>In both January and February the proportion of Panama-flagged vessels detained in China was far lower than March: 25 Panamanian ships detained, vs 46 of all other flags in January, which declined to 19 and 26 respectively in February.
>Given that Port State Control detains vessels over safety issues, it could of course be a coincidence, how the correlation between the timing of Hutchison’s ejection from its concessions at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal and rising number of Panamanian ships detained in China is striking, and lends credence to claims from recently installed US Federal Maritime Commission chair Laura DiBella that China was weaponising Port State Control “to punish Panama”.
>“Given that Panama-flagged ships carry a meaningful share of US containerised trade, these actions could result in significant commercial and strategic consequences to US shipping,” she added.
>Meanwhile, in the daily press conference hosted by China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Friday, the government spokesperson was asked to confirm whether it was specifically targeting Panamanian vessels in response to the Hutchison saga – but she dodged the question, replying: “China’s position on issues related to the Panama Canal ports is clear. The US’s repeated wrongful allegations only reveal its attempt to take control of the canal.
Actually, I hadn’t quite followed the ‘saga’. China [objected](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/officials-search-ck-hutchison-offices-panama-local-media-say-2026-02-26/) to some other law enforcement measures as well, such as the search of Hutchison offices, seizure of some documents, etc.