(Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers and officials are touting a nearly half-century-old treaty between the United States and Panama to justify the Trump administration's threat to reclaim the Panama Canal - provided it can show the strategic waterway's operation is under threat.

China's presence around the Panama Canal is a national security concern that Panama's government has to deal with, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy for Latin America, said on Friday, ahead of U.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make clear to Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino in an upcoming visit that the Panama Canal is a strategic asset and cannot be under Chinese control, a senior U.S. official told reporters on Friday.