Panama agrees to facilitate & offer free-passage to US Navy ships through Panama Canal following visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and agrees to end China's Panama Canal deal and to leave from china's 2017 "Belt and Road initiative"

Panama seems to have yielded to Donald Trump’s hardline diplomatic approach by withdrawing from China’s Belt and Road initiative.

During his first trip abroad as secretary of state, Marco Rubio warned the Central American nation that U.S. concerns over Beijing’s “control” of the crucial waterway could lead to necessary actions to safeguard American interests.

The Panama Canal, constructed by the U.S. and linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, remains a vital trade route, with the U.S. as its largest user.

Following high-level discussions on Sunday, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino reaffirmed his country’s sovereignty over the canal, stating there was “no doubt” about it. However, he also informed Rubio of an “important” decision not to renew Panama’s 2017 Belt and Road agreement with China, which had positioned the country within Beijing’s vast infrastructure initiative.

The Belt and Road initiative, often called the new Silk Road, represents a $1 trillion global network of railways, ports, and other infrastructure projects.

Mulino indicated he was exploring the possibility of terminating the agreement sooner and confirmed an ongoing audit of a Hong Kong-based company that operates two ports near the canal’s entrance.

Despite this apparent U.S. victory, Trump reiterated on Sunday his desire to “take back” the canal, which was transferred to Panama under a 1977 treaty.

“China is running the Panama Canal—it wasn’t given to China, it was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement,” Trump told reporters. “And we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen.”

Trump had signaled his dissatisfaction with Panama’s control of the canal as early as his inauguration speech, claiming U.S. ships were being “severely overcharged and not treated fairly” by the Panama Canal Authority.