US ships getting preferential rates 'will lead to chaos': Panama Canal administrator

Panama City, Jan 9 US President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion that US ships get preferential rates "will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos," Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez Morales has said.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, he said "Rules are rules and there are no exceptions ... We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else."

The administrator, who has led the canal authority since 2019, denied allegations that it charges US vessels higher rates.

Tolls average about 750,000 U.S. dollars per crossing, though they can range between 300,000 and 1 million dollars, he told the Wall Street Journal, adding that "they apply to all ships from around the world and there are no exceptions."

In response to Trump's claims, the administrator said "the accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded ... China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations", Xinhua news agency reported.

Since his victory in November last year, Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of gaining control of the Panama Canal -- a major shipping route dug through Panama -- and purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

At a press conference on Tuesday -- the first since Trump's election win was officially certified by the US Congress - Trump declined to rule out military or economic action, emphasising that US control of both was vital to national security.