Donald Trump has begun his second term as president by ramping up pressure on Panama – threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal and accusing the country of ceding control of the strategically critical waterway to a US rival: China.

By Frankie Mills Panama has strongly rejected US claims about securing free passage for government vessels through the Panama Canal, whilst announcing its withdrawal from China's Belt and Road Initiative amidst growing US pressure over alleged Chinese influence in the region.

Panama,” so the famous palindrome goes. President Donald Trump is a man with a plan for the canal, namely to force Panama to limit China’s influence on the vital 50-mile shortcut between the Atlantic and the Pacific or risk the United States taking back the canal by force

Newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to "take back" the Panama Canal, the world's second busiest interoceanic waterway.

Panama's president says the State Department's claim of an agreement granting U.S. warships free canal passage was "based on a falsity. And that's intolerable."

Panama President José Raúl Mulino has rejected the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free

The Panamanian leader says he was “incredibly surprised” by the statement, as President Trump threatens a U.S. takeover of the strategic waterway.