在持续一年之久的威胁与“半球主导”宣示之后，特朗普“夺回”巴拿马运河的施压在1月29日迎来关键结果：巴拿马最高法院裁定香港长和旗下的巴拿马港口公司两端口运营合同违宪，次日（1月30日）总统何塞·劳尔·穆利诺称将由马士基旗下的APM码头在重新招标前过渡运营。美国国务卿马尔科·鲁比奥表示“受到鼓舞”，而这一进展被广泛解读为与美国压力密切相关。
去年3月曾出现以商业交易化解争端的路径：西方财团拟在与长和的更大交易中收购港口，但在成交期限届满后第3天，巴拿马审计长办公室将案件提交最高法院，交易受挫并激起国内对政府与司法“随特朗普起舞”的愤怒。香港和澳门事务办公室将裁决斥为“荒谬”“可悲”，并警告将付出“沉重代价”；裁决虽不可上诉，但可进入国际仲裁，长和已在2月3日表示将提请仲裁。
这场冲突叠加了巴拿马既有的投资与信用下滑轨迹：2023年最高法院下令关闭外资巨型铜矿Cobre Panamá，4个月后巴拿马失去投资级评级。马士基旗下企业于去年4月收购两港间铁路且将过渡运营港口，使其在未来招标中处于有利位置并引发偏袒指控风险；与此同时，运河管理局今年1月公布两个新港口与一条液化石油气管道的招标条款，名义上对任何国家开放，但若中资报出最具竞争力的方案，可能在再度触怒美国与“创造性拒绝”之间被迫取舍。
After a year of threats and declared hemispheric dominance, pressure to “take back” the Panama Canal produced a dated turning point: on January 29 Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company contract to operate the two end-ports breached the constitution, and on January 30 President José Raúl Mulino said Maersk’s APM Terminals would run the ports during a transition to new tenders. The United States signaled approval through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while the episode increases geopolitical and operational risk for Panama.
A commercial off-ramp floated in March last year, when a Western consortium aimed to buy the ports as part of a broader CK Hutchison deal, but China resisted and, three days after the closing deadline expired, Panama’s comptroller-general brought the case to the Supreme Court, intensifying perceptions of externally driven timing. China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called the ruling “absurd” and “pathetic” and warned of a “heavy price”; although the decision cannot be appealed, it can move to international arbitration, which CK Hutchison said on February 3 it would pursue.
The ruling compounds a quantitative investment-credibility slide: in 2023 the Supreme Court ordered the shutdown of the Cobre Panamá copper mine, and Panama lost its investment-grade rating four months later. With Maersk-linked subsidiaries having bought the inter-port railway last April and set to operate the ports in the interim, the next tender cycle risks favoritism claims; meanwhile, the Panama Canal Authority announced in January terms for two new ports and a liquefied-petroleum-gas pipeline open to firms from any country, but a top Chinese bid would sharpen the trade-off between rejection tactics and renewed U.S. friction.
Source: The Panama Canal is a hinge point in Donald Trump’s new order
Subtitle: A recent Panamanian supreme-court ruling shows how the “Donroe doctrine” really works
Dateline: 2月 05, 2026 05:40 上午