In response to growing tensions over alleged Chinese activity near the Panama Canal, the U.S. military partnered with Panamanian police for a new set of defense exercises focused on protecting the strategic waterway.
The exercises commenced Sunday with the landing of three U.S. Army helicopters—two UH-60 Black Hawks and a CH-47 Chinook—at Panama-Pacific Airport, a site formerly known as the U.S. Howard Base.
These operations build on similar drills held a month earlier, conducted under a bilateral agreement that grants the U.S. access to Panamanian military facilities for training purposes, without maintaining a permanent presence.
