US and Panamanian military patrol the Panama Canal during a joint drill held as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visits the Port of Rodman, 8 April, 2025 - AP Photo ...

The canal, which the U.S. built, connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and has been under Panama's control since 1999.

Defense Secretary Hegseth said the U.S. and Panama are strengthening security ties and "together" will "take back" the canal from the influence of China, which operates two major ports.

U.S. warships will travel through the Panama Canal "first and free," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday as he visited the nation to push back on Chinese influence.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that U.S. and Panama officials would sign a “framework” agreement allowing U.S. warships to travel “first and free” through the Panama Canal.

If China’s alleged influence over the canal wasn’t halted, Trump threatened to “take back” the iconic waterway that the US returned to Panama in 2000, employing military force if needed.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during the signing of a bilateral agreement, in Panama City on April 9, 2025.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty with Panama to gradually transfer control of the 51-mile canal to the nation it bisects, and on Dec. 31, 1999, Panama assumed full control of the canal.

PANAMA CITY — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sought to reassure Panama that the United States recognizes its sovereignty over the national canal, amid President Donald Trump’s repeated ...

Chinese regulators have blocked a $23 billion sale of key ports, including two in the Panama Canal, to a group led by BlackRock. REUTERS China President Xi Jinping is reportedly “angry” over ...

A cargo ship sails past the Panama Canal's Port of Balboa managed by CK Hutchison Holdings in Panama City, 13 March, 2025© AP Photo US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks with US troops after a ...