China deplores the forced demolition of a Panama Canal monument honouring Chinese workers, an act also criticised by Panama’s president.
BEIJING: China has strongly criticised Panamanian authorities for demolishing a monument to Beijing’s contributions to the Panama Canal.
The monument in Arraijan, near the canal’s Pacific entrance, was torn down on Saturday by order of the local mayor’s office.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it “deplores the forced demolition” of the structure.
“The monument stood as a witness and memorial to the time-honoured friendship between China and Panama, and to the tremendous contribution of Chinese workers who traveled across the oceans to Panama in the19th century to help build the Twin Ocean Railway and the Panama Canal,” it said.
The mayor’s office claimed the monument, built in 2004, was removed due to structural damage posing a risk.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino also condemned the destruction.
There was “no justification whatsoever for the barbarity committed”, he said, calling it “an unforgivable act of irrationality”.
His government subsequently ordered the “immediate restoration of the monument in its original location”.
The demolition occurs amid geopolitical tensions over the key waterway.
Former US President Donald Trump has recently threatened to retake control of the canal, alleging excessive Chinese influence.
China holds major investments in Panama, including port operations by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Holdings.
The US and China are the primary users of the 80-kilometre canal, which handles 5% of global maritime trade.
The Panama Canal was under US control from 1914 until its handover to Panama in 1999.
