Marco Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday that the Central American ally must immediately reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the Trump administration.
Rubio, on his first foreign trip as America's top diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new US government over Panama's management of a waterway that is vital to global trade.
Mulino told reporters after the meeting that Rubio made "no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force."
Panama's President Jose Mulino, left, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AP)
Speaking on behalf of President Donald Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to US control,...