US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday, marking his first international trip as the country's top diplomat amid President Donald Trump's bid to reclaim control over the Panama Canal.

Trump has suggested that China's growing influence in the region, particularly through its investment in Panama's ports, poses a national security risk.

He has refused ruling out military action to take back the canal, which the US handed over to Panama in 1999.

"They've already offered to do many things," Trump said on Friday, "but we think it's appropriate that we take it back," adding that Panama had violated agreements by allowing excessive Chinese involvement. 

Panama says the canal is ours 

Rubio shook hands with Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha and flashed a thumbs-up sign before heading into talks with Mulino.

After the meeting, Panama's president said he discussed with Rubio the issue of Chinese ports near the Panama Canal, as well as migration.

Mulino said he would not renew the Panama-China Silk Road agreement, which could be terminated early. He said that his country's sovereignty over the Panama Canal is not up for discussion, the canal is operated by Panama and will remain so.

However, he proposed technical-level talks with the United States to address Trump's concerns about Chinese influence in the canal and offered to help repatriate some migrants if the United States paid for it.

Meanwhile, according to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio told Panama that China's influence was in "violation" of the Canal treaty and that the status quo was unacceptable.

He also warned the country that without "immediate changes," the US would take "measures" necessary to protect its rights under the treaty.

Before the weekend, Mulino had firmly rejected any negotiations regarding US control of the canal.

"I cannot negotiate, much less open a process of negotiations on the canal," Mulino said Thursday, saying that the issue "is sealed."

"The canal is Panama's," he said.

However, his administration has launched an audit of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, which operates ports on both sides of the canal.

Small but intense protests broke out in Panama during the meeting, with police firing tear gas. About 200 people marched in Panama City, carrying Panamanian flags and shouting "Marco Rubio out of Panama," "Long live national sovereignty," and "One territory, one flag."

Rubio on tour of Central America

Rubio, while downplaying the question military intervention, told SiriusXM radio in an interview before the trip that the Panama Canal is a "core national interest" for the US.

The Panama Canal serves as a vital trade route, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and facilitating 40% of US container traffic.

"We cannot allow any foreign power — particularly China — to hold that kind of potential control over it that they do," Rubio said. "That just can't continue."

Rubio's visit is part of a broader tour of Central America, which will also include El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, speaks fluent Spanish, helping him conduct US diplomacy in the Latin America region. 

ss,dh/wmr,wd (AP, AFP)