Panama dismissed President Donald Trump's statement that the United States would "take back" the Panama Canal, asserting that the vital interoceanic waterway will remain under its control.
"The canal is and will remain Panama's," President Jose Raul Mulino said in a statement published on social media.
"Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we're taking it back," Trump said after being sworn in inside the U.S. Capitol.
Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panama denies that China has any role in running the canal, and has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over the waterway since Trump first threatened to take it over after he was elected in November.
At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been "treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made."
"The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy," he said.
Marco Rubio, Trump's choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.
"This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted," Rubio said.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor and opened in 1914.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.
