China Wednesday claimed it has never interfered in the Panama Canal amid threats of overtaking the shipping channel by the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, state media reported. Beijing has “not been involved in the management or operation of the Panama Canal,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital.

On Christmas Day, Trump posted on social media that the "wonderful soldiers of China" were "lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal" - a claim which was swiftly denied by officials in Panama City and Beijing.

Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

US President Donald Trump's threat to seize the Panama Canal over alleged undue Chinese influence may really be aimed at limiting Beijing's growing diplomatic and economic presence in Latin America, experts say. Actually using force to take the ...

Nonetheless, Trump’s bet is to not have to pursue military conquest in the Athenian way. He would rather have a complacent Panama, accepting all U.S. demands. As shown by the recent Colombia-U.S. clash over deportations, Trump’s approach seems to be “cooperate or else.”

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino says his nation intends to maintain control of the Panama Canal, after President Trump reiterated his intent to take control of the strategic waterway in his

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat.

It is now a weapon being used against us.” Trump’s skepticism about U.S. support for Ukraine and Taiwan, his eagerness to impose tariffs, and his threats to retake the Panama Canal, absorb Canada, and acquire Greenland make it clear that he envisions a return to nineteenth-century power politics and spheres of interest,

WASHINGTON — A top Senate Republican accused Panama Tuesday of violating the treaty giving the Central American nation control over the vital Panama Canal shipping lane — saying the country had waved through illicit transfers of crude oil by Iran and exposed itself to dangerous Chinese influence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump in his first week back in the White House has offered an early preview to his second-term foreign policy approach: Talk loudly and wield a big stick.