Chinese ports detained 431 Panamanian vessels between March and June following Panama’s removal of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison subsidiary Panama Ports Company from the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals on either end of the Panama Canal. The Federal Maritime Commission says the “retaliatory inspections … appear intended to punish Panama” for its removal of CK Hutchison. (RELATED: To Secure the Panama Canal, Reinstitute the Monroe Doctrine)CK Hutchison is nominally a private Hong Kong conglomerate — a large business made up of smaller independent companies. (RELATED: China Poses a Severe Threat in Panama and Leaves the US With No Choice.) When Panama removed CK Hutchison from the canal terminals, Beijing found an unrelated pressure point in the cargo fleet of Panama and began squeezing.