Beijing’s efforts to expand its reach in the country have hit several obstacles, in part because of American pressure.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal may be posturing, but it could dampen the Panamanian government’s wish to broaden relations with the United States, analysts say.

Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the U.S. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has in recent days repeatedly denounced what he sees as China’s outsized influence on the Panama Canal – the crucial maritime passageway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Chinese companies operate ports on both ends of the Panama Canal and invest in mining in Greenland. Read more at straitstimes.com.

CSIS Americas Program director Ryan C. Berg and Andrew Sanders make the case for increased U.S. engagement with Panama to mitigate strategic vulnerabilities presented by insecurity, irregular migration,

The US is the biggest user of the Canal, but influence on its operations is dispersed among contracts with bidders internationally.

Trump's claim that Chinese soldiers exercise authority over the Panama Canal is inaccurate, but his assertion that China manipulates the use of the passage is a long-held U.S. concern.

The Panama Canal Authority leader denied that China controls the waterway, warning President-elect Trump against ending the Neutrality Treaty.

Over decades, a shift in US military strategy, larger carriers and the growth of commerce on the West Coast deemphasized US involvement.

US president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his expansionist agenda, citing China as a security threat and refusing to rule out military action or economic pressure to reclaim the Panama Canal and acquire Greenland from Denmark.

With even allies on tenterhooks and adversaries keeping a close eye, Trump has already launched a full-throated assault on “liberal internationalism,” a rules-based order that the US, ironically, has long wielded against its rivals for daring territorial expansion.