US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One. AFP
Trump has for months been calling for the United States to take control of the Panama Canal, but his social media post also shifted the focus to the vital Suez route.
"American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He claimed that both routes "would not exist" without the United States and said he had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "immediately take care of" the situation.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, without directly referencing Trump, said on Saturday that toll fees for the Panama Canal are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous governing body that oversees the waterway.
"There is no agreement to the contrary," he said in a post on X.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama City earlier this month that the United States was seeking an agreement under which its warships could pass through the canal "first and free."
The United States and China are two of the top users of the Panama Canal.
Egypt's Suez Canal, a key waterway linking Europe and Asia, accounted for about 10 per cent of global maritime trade before attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels began targeting vessels after the start of the Gaza war, in solidarity with Palestinians, forcing ships to take a long and costly detour around the southern tip of Africa.
Egypt said last year that its canal revenues had plunged 60 per cent, a loss of $7 billion.
The US military has been attacking Houthi positions since January 2024, but those assaults have intensified under Trump, with almost daily strikes in the past month.
Trump has vowed that military action would continue until the Houthis are no longer a threat to shipping.
Trump’s request regarding the Suez Canal stirred significant controversy, particularly among international law experts, who stressed that the waterway falls entirely under Egypt’s sovereignty and is maintained through regulations and legislation governing navigation and related activities.
Egyptian international law expert Ayman Salama explained in a Facebook post that the Suez Canal is regulated by a distinct Egyptian legal framework, based on clear legislation and precise regulatory provisions.
These define the transit fees and specify the limited cases for which exemptions are eligible.
He emphasised that Trump's demand for exclusive exemption of the United States from paying fees lacks any legal or logical justification.
Salama further stressed that “the 1888 Constantinople Convention did not undermine Egypt’s sovereignty over the canal.” Instead, it laid down essential principles for organising navigation through this vital waterway.
Article I of the Constantinople Convention stipulates that the freedom of use of the canal must remain unaffected to ensure the Suez Canal is always open and free to all commercial and military vessels during wartime and peacetime without discrimination based on nationality.
Salama also highlighted that late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's decision in 1956 to nationalise the Suez Canal Company restored complete Egyptian control over this vital asset on its territory, reinforcing the principle of permanent state sovereignty over natural resources.
According to the official website of the Suez Canal Authority, Egyptian workers began digging the canal on 25 April 1859. Ten years later, on 17 November 1869, the canal was officially opened.
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