US sends commander to Panama to "secure" canal against Chinese influence; Beijing dubs claim "a lie"

Beijing (China), February 20 (ANI): Following US President Donald Trump's remarks on "taking back" the Panama Canal from China, the commander of the US military's Southern Command is visiting the country from February 19-20 to discuss security cooperation "safeguarding the Panama Canal area from China's influence and control."
China, meanwhile on Thursday said that Beijing has never been involved in the management and operation of the canal, nor has it meddled in canal affairs.
The Chinese Embassy in Panama on Thursday refuted the claim that China controls the canal is "nothing but a lie," as per a report in Chinese media Global Times.
The United States Embassy in Panama, on Wednesday, said that its Southern Command commander Admiral Alvin Holsey is in Panama to meet with the nation's leaders to strengthen cooperation and discuss critical regional challenges, including efforts to protect the canal area from Chinese Communist Party influence and control.
China said that it is the US that has been constantly threatening to "take back" the canal and attempting to regain control of it. The US' acts of sabotaging China-Panama relations are unpopular and will not succeed, said the Chinese Embassy in a statement as reported in the Global Times.
This comes amidst tensions between the United States and China post President Trump's inauguration.
On January 20 this year, Trump delivering his inaugural speech said "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."
The CNN explains that at the heart of Trump's contentions are a Hong Kong-based company that operates two key ports at either end of the 50-mile long waterway - and broader concerns about Beijing's expanding influence in a region of the world where the US has long been the dominant power.
Earlier this month, US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, held talks in Panama with its president, Jose Raul Mulino. Rubio told Mulino that Trump believed the current situation at the canal was "unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights" under a US treaty with Panama according to US State Department readout of the meeting.
After the meeting, Mulino said he would not renew Panama's belt and road initiative with China.
China's Foreign Ministry criticized the US for using "pressure and coercion" to "discredit and undermine" Belt and Road cooperation. CNN cited a spokesperson as saying that Beijing hoped Panama would "eliminate external interference" and "make the right decision." (ANI)