The President's Daily Brief
March 14th, 2025: Pentagon Draws Up Plans For Retaking The Panama Canal & Taiwan Hits Back At China's Infiltration And Espionage Campaign
Fri, 14 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First up, the White House has directed the Pentagon to draw up several options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama in order to achieve President Trump’s goal of "retaking" the Panama Canal. These plans reportedly range from partnering with local security forces to seizing the strategic trade route by force. Later in the show, negotiations between Israel and Hamas on extending their fragile ceasefire in Gaza have reportedly stalled, though the White House is scrambling to find a temporary fix to prevent a return to fighting. Plus, tensions are once again simmering in the South China Sea, as Taiwan's president warns that Beijing has expanded its influence campaigns, infiltration efforts and spying operations in an attempt to weaken the island’s defenses. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, a plane carrying Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte landed in the Netherlands on Wednesday, where he was formally transferred into the custody of the International Criminal Court and taken to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What plans does the Pentagon have for the Panama Canal?
First up, the White House has directed the Pentagon to draw up several options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama in order to achieve President Trump's goal of, quote, retaking the Panama Canal. These plans reportedly range from partnering with local security forces to seizing the strategic trade route by force.
Later in the show, negotiations between Israel and Hamas on extending their fragile ceasefire in Gaza have reportedly stalled, though the White House is scrambling to find a temporary fix to prevent a return to fighting.
Plus, tensions are once again rising in the South China Sea, as Taiwan's president warns that Beijing has expanded its influence campaigns, infiltration efforts, and spying operations in an attempt to weaken the island's defenses.
And in today's Back of the Brief, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court, the ICC, in the Netherlands on Wednesday on murder charges, following his arrest in Manila over a bloody years-long drug war that left thousands dead. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
President Trump is intensifying his push to carve out a new sphere of influence for America by potentially seizing overseas territories, with his sights trained squarely right now on the Panama Canal. According to an exclusive report from NBC News, the White House has directed the U.S.
military to begin drawing up plans for boosting America's troop presence in Panama in order to, quote, "...reclaim the strategic waterway and diminish China's influence in the region."
The options reportedly vary, from partnering with Panamanian security forces to secure the port operations, to essentially invading Panama and seizing the canal outright, though officials said the use of the military force is a far less likely outcome. Sources with U.S.
Southern Command told NBC News that whether or not some form of military action is taken will depend entirely on how willing Panamanian leaders are to cooperate with U.S. efforts. While details are sparse, officials said that the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Halsey, presented draft strategies to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier this week.
They come as Secretary Hegseth prepares for a scheduled visit to Panama next month. So, what do the Pentagon's possible strategies entail? As you might imagine, at this stage, the details remain unclear. But sources told NBC News that one avenue would simply involve increasing the number of U.S. troops stationed in the country to ensure U.S. ships have safe passage through the canal.
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Chapter 2: What is the current status of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations?
But the canal obviously remains vital to America's economic interests. Roughly 40% of U.S. container traffic relies on the waterway, with roughly 70% of all vessels traversing the canal either traveling to or from American ports. Trump feels that Panama has not been a good steward of the canal, arguing that they allowed China to move in and essentially capture the strategic trade route.
While Panama has rejected these accusations, they recently agreed to abandon their agreements with Beijing under China's Belt and Road Initiative following a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in early February. This has opened up the doors for U.S. investment in the canal.
As we covered last week, the American asset titan BlackRock has since swooped in – that's what you do when you're an asset titan, you swoop – securing a $22.8 billion deal to buy two of the four major ports at the canal's entrances from a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, C.K. Hutchinson, effectively bringing those ports under American control.
Given the newly drafted military plans, however, it appears that President Trump wants to take things even further. But Trump's hopes could be dashed by Congress, where opposition is growing to his plans for territorial expansion.
Earlier this week, House Democrats introduced a bill called the, quote, No Invading Allies Act, which would bar funding to any military operations designed to take over Panama, Greenland or Canada.
It comes as President Trump said Thursday that annexing Greenland remains high on his wish list, arguing it's vital to deterring potential threats from China and Russia in the Arctic's crucial global trade and military arteries. When asked about the odds of Greenland joining the U.S., Trump responded, quote, end quote.
All right, coming up next, negotiations between Israel and Hamas on extending their fragile ceasefire in Gaza have reportedly stalled. And Taiwan's president warns that China has expanded its influence campaigns and infiltration efforts in an attempt to weaken the island's defenses. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB.
Efforts to extend the Israel-Hamas ceasefire hit a deadlock on Thursday, with negotiations in Doha yielding little progress. This comes as the Trump administration pivots its focus to Moscow for Ukraine-related talks, leaving the future of the fragile ceasefire uncertain.
As regular listeners of the PDB will recall, the six-week truce that was brokered in mid-January was designed to set the stage for a broader peace deal aimed at ending the war. The terms included Israel's full military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all hostages. Yet, as the deadline passed, both sides remained entrenched in irreconcilable positions.
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Chapter 3: How is Taiwan responding to China's espionage efforts?
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Rodrigo Duterte's transfer to the ICC?
President Trump is intensifying his push to carve out a new sphere of influence for America by potentially seizing overseas territories, with his sights trained squarely right now on the Panama Canal. According to an exclusive report from NBC News, the White House has directed the U.S.
military to begin drawing up plans for boosting America's troop presence in Panama in order to, quote, "...reclaim the strategic waterway and diminish China's influence in the region."
The options reportedly vary, from partnering with Panamanian security forces to secure the port operations, to essentially invading Panama and seizing the canal outright, though officials said the use of the military force is a far less likely outcome. Sources with U.S.
Southern Command told NBC News that whether or not some form of military action is taken will depend entirely on how willing Panamanian leaders are to cooperate with U.S. efforts. While details are sparse, officials said that the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Halsey, presented draft strategies to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier this week.
They come as Secretary Hegseth prepares for a scheduled visit to Panama next month. So, what do the Pentagon's possible strategies entail? As you might imagine, at this stage, the details remain unclear. But sources told NBC News that one avenue would simply involve increasing the number of U.S. troops stationed in the country to ensure U.S. ships have safe passage through the canal.
Currently, the U.S. only has roughly 200 troops in-country, including special forces units who partner with Panamanian forces to protect the canal from internal threats. Another option under consideration is using the U.S. military to secure existing ports in Panama, deploying the Army Corps of Engineers to build new ports, and placing operation of the canal's locks under the control of the U.S.
military. The White House is also mulling strategies to restore complete U.S. ownership of the canal, as well as positioning troops near Panama so that they could quickly secure the strategic waterway and block Chinese access in the event of a conflict.
As we've been tracking on the PDB, President Trump has long said he intends to take back the waterway from the Panamanian government, citing the threat of China's influence at the canal's ports. Last week, during his address to a joint session of Congress, Trump formally declared the U.S.
would be, quote, reclaiming the Panama Canal, saying, quote, we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back, end quote. For some background, the American-built canal has been solely controlled by Panama for 25 years after the U.S. returned the Panama Canal Zone to the country in 1979 and ended a joint partnership in controlling the strategic waterway back in 1999.
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Chapter 5: What strategies is the U.S. considering to counter China's influence?
All right, coming up next, negotiations between Israel and Hamas on extending their fragile ceasefire in Gaza have reportedly stalled. And Taiwan's president warns that China has expanded its influence campaigns and infiltration efforts in an attempt to weaken the island's defenses. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB.
Efforts to extend the Israel-Hamas ceasefire hit a deadlock on Thursday, with negotiations in Doha yielding little progress. This comes as the Trump administration pivots its focus to Moscow for Ukraine-related talks, leaving the future of the fragile ceasefire uncertain.
As regular listeners of the PDB will recall, the six-week truce that was brokered in mid-January was designed to set the stage for a broader peace deal aimed at ending the war. The terms included Israel's full military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all hostages. Yet, as the deadline passed, both sides remained entrenched in irreconcilable positions.
Israel insists on Hamas's total disarmament and removal, while Hamas refuses to dissolve its remaining battalions. The ceasefire formally expired in early March without a second-phase agreement, though full-scale fighting has yet to resume. In Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu is caught in a political vice.
Hardline members of his coalition demand that the war continue unabated, while hostage families grow increasingly desperate for the return of their loved ones. According to Israeli officials, 24 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the remains of more than 30 others.
Last week, Trump's special envoy on hostages, Adam Boehler, held direct talks with senior Hamas leaders in Qatar, seeking the release of Eden Alexander, he's the last known surviving Israeli-American hostage, along with the remains of four others. But those efforts ended in failure.
Before departing for Moscow on Thursday, Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, took another swing at moving the needle on the negotiations, presenting an updated U.S. ceasefire proposal to both Israel and Hamas, sources told Axios.
The revised deal calls for Hamas to release at least five live hostages and the remains of nine deceased captives in exchange for a temporary extension of the ceasefire, along with a resumption of humanitarian aid, which was suspended in an effort to pressure Hamas into a deal. This marks a tactical shift. Just two weeks ago, the U.S.
proposal sought the release of around 10 live hostages and 18 deceased. The latest iteration appears to be an attempt by the White House to buy time, especially with Ramadan and Passover approaching in the hopes, of course, of staving off renewed bloodshed. Meanwhile, tensions in Gaza remain high.
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