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If the Panama Canal gets a rival

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Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#21

Post by jabits »

boyter wrote: post #7
brianbreslin wrote: post #3

Disclaimer, I'm part Panamanian, that being said, I find this highly suspicious. A lot of my Nicaraguan friends are also highly doubtful this will ever take off. The big problems for Nicaragua with this are: - Horrible ecological impact (fisheries in Caribbean are already [1] - Many think this is an excuse for the politicians to get cushy land/resort deals along the proposed route and near the entrances to the canal…

My wife is Panamanian and having just recently traveled there I got the same impression. I was asking everyone about it and they held the same opinions to yourself. It's also worth noting that the reason the canal was put in Panama over Nicaragua was due to earthquake activity which Panama did not have.

Not the main reason. As always, politics really ruled with US-Columbia relations factoring in heavily (Panama was a province of Columbia early on in planning), as well as the existing US-owned Panama Railway.

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#22

Post by InclinedPlane »

mschuster91 wrote: post #16

> After all, what wouldn’t China pay to see one of its naval fleets one day emerging from the Central American jungle right under America’s nose? Not that the US Navy couldn't already shoot up entire fleets with missiles, but when a fleet passes through a tiny canal, well, it's a canal and a tiny nuke is enough to blow up the entire fleet with no way to escape...

It's 2015, fleets don't move without being observed today. Every major power has surveillance satellites specifically designed for keeping track of naval fleets. A Chinese fleet rushing around the world on a provocative trajectory toward the continental US is going to gain a lot of attention and a lot of company very rapidly.

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#23

Post by realityking »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #15

It's weird how they compare China's (hypothetical) desire for a naval military presence in the Atlantic to the USA's presence in the Pacific. Guys, the USA has coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific. No one can say we don't have a legitimate interest in defending our borders at least. I can't think of any reason for China to have carrier groups steaming around the Atlantic other than "lookin' for trouble."

Pray tell, why do you have a carrier in the Indian Ocean?

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#24

Post by yc1010 »

jabits wrote: post #21
boyter wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife is Panamanian and having just recently traveled there I got the same impression. I was asking everyone about it and they held the same opinions to yourself. It's also worth noting that the reason the canal was put in Panama over Nicaragua was due to earthquake activity which Panama did not have.

Not the main reason. As always, politics really ruled with US-Columbia relations factoring in heavily (Panama was a province of Columbia early on in planning), as well as the existing US-owned Panama Railway.

There was a good documentary on PBC about the canal recently, the US basically staged a coup for Panama to gain independence from Columbia and in return got their Canal Zone

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#25

Post by [deleted] »

realityking wrote: post #23
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #15

It's weird how they compare China's (hypothetical) desire for a naval military presence in the Atlantic to the USA's presence in the Pacific. Guys, the USA has coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific. No one can say we don't have a legitimate interest in defending our borders at least. I can't think of any reason for China to have carrier groups steaming around the Atlantic other than "lookin' for trouble."

Pray tell, why do you have a carrier in the Indian Ocean?

[deleted]

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#27

Post by zrail »

realityking wrote: post #23
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #15

It's weird how they compare China's (hypothetical) desire for a naval military presence in the Atlantic to the USA's presence in the Pacific. Guys, the USA has coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific. No one can say we don't have a legitimate interest in defending our borders at least. I can't think of any reason for China to have carrier groups steaming around the Atlantic other than "lookin' for trouble."

Pray tell, why do you have a carrier in the Indian Ocean?

Lookin for trouble. Clearly.

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#28

Post by ninguem2 »

jabits wrote: post #21
boyter wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife is Panamanian and having just recently traveled there I got the same impression. I was asking everyone about it and they held the same opinions to yourself. It's also worth noting that the reason the canal was put in Panama over Nicaragua was due to earthquake activity which Panama did not have.

Not the main reason. As always, politics really ruled with US-Columbia relations factoring in heavily (Panama was a province of Columbia early on in planning), as well as the existing US-owned Panama Railway.

It's Colombia, please.

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#29

Post by jotm »

ninguem2 wrote: post #28
jabits wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the main reason. As always, politics really ruled with US-Columbia relations factoring in heavily (Panama was a province of Columbia early on in planning), as well as the existing US-owned Panama Railway.

It's Colombia, please.

Most effective way to piss of a Colombian is to call their country Columbia :-)

Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival

#30

Post by danmaz74 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #16

> After all, what wouldn’t China pay to see one of its naval fleets one day emerging from the Central American jungle right under America’s nose? Not that the US Navy couldn't already shoot up entire fleets with missiles, but when a fleet passes through a tiny canal, well, it's a canal and a tiny nuke is enough to blow up the entire fleet with no way to escape...

Of all the reasons to build a new canal, I find this to be one of the most fantastic.
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