Panama: Canal Settlement

After 18 months of negotiations with Panama over the future of the canal, President Johnson last week had significant progress to report. The U.S., said the President, will abrogate the old 1903 treaty which gives it sovereign control "in perpetuity" over the canal and a five-mile strip along either side. The new treaty, explained the President, will "effectively recognize Panama's sovereignty over the area of the canal." In fact, when the treaty is signed, probably next year, it will wipe out the old concept of the Canal Zone as a U.S. bastion in Latin America.

In a new joint setup, Panama will be given a major role in operating and managing the canal. Presumably, Panama will also get a cut of the canal's income, though Johnson promised that shipping tolls will remain relatively low. The status of U.S. forces in Panama will be worked out in a separate agreement. And, if the U.S. builds a new sea-level canal across Panama, as now seems likely, the new treaty will be replaced with yet another one, thus giving both sides a chance to refine and improve the U.S.-Panama partnership.

No Panamanian was more pleased with Johnson's attitude than President Marco Robles. Taking office nine months after the bloody January 1964 riots, Robles put a damper on fiery nationalists, sought a reasonable solution with the U.S. over the canal crisis. An honest and decisive administrator, he has pushed through a much-needed tax reform, has brought new stability and order to Panama. This week he must deliver his state-of-the-nation address to the Panamanian National Assembly. He can report that his reasonable approach has accomplished far more for Panama than all the hotheads ever have.