WASHINGTON -- Retired Adm. Thomas Moorer, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says China is preparing to take over the Panama Canal once the United States relinquishes control.
And he warned Tuesday of possible Chinese use of the area to launch a nuclear attack on America.Moorer said China plans to seize control through a Hong Kong company, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which has won the right to operate ports on both sides of the canal. He contended that the firm has close links to the Chinese military.
Moorer commented at a news conference sponsored by the John Birch Society, a rightist group opposed to the treaties.
The treaties require the United States to surrender control of the canal and to remove all troops by Dec. 31.
Administration officials have previously dismissed allegations of an eventual Chinese takeover of the canal as baseless.
Li Ka-shing, who runs the company at the center of the allegations and is one of Hong Kong's richest tycoons, has rejected the criticisms as a "joke."
"I have no intention to control the Panama Canal," Li told reporters recently.
Hutchison operates ports worldwide and says it competes with several other companies that offer cargo handling services at the Panama Canal and would be in no position to control the canal.
Li maintains close ties with the Beijing leadership, but Hutchison points out it is not a Chinese company and that there are no mainland entities holding a significant stake in the conglomerate.
Moorer spoke as U.S. and Panamanian officials met to discuss canal security and other issues once the transfer to Panamanian control takes place.
Moorer, who served as Joint Chiefs chairman during the Nixon administration, said China's missiles can carry "a nuclear payload or an explosive payload, and they can also be mounted on a truck and moved around -- and, therefore, very difficult to keep track of.
"And consequently, we have a situation where the Chinese are in a position today to secrete these kinds of missiles into Panama and use Panama as a launching point for missiles to attack the United States," he said. "And no one seems to get exercised over that, and the media doesn't ever mention that."
He said the Chinese threat "is more difficult to handle" than the Cuban missile crisis was.