Panama promotes itself “as the bridge of the world, heart of the universe” but lately the narrow Central American Isthmus and its namesake canal that joins the Atlantic to the Pacific have become the setting for a bitter clash between the world’s two preeminent economic superpowers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth said on Wednesday he sees the Panama Canal as key terrain that Panama should secure together with the United States and not with China, adding it was important to protect it from "malign" influence.

Panama and the U.S. signed a new security pact on the canal, boosting defense ties as tensions with China over Latin American influence continue to rise.

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The United States will "take back" the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to the Central American nation.

Pete Hegseth said Beijing would not be allowed to ‘weaponise’ the waterway by using Chinese firms’ commercial relationships for espionage.