Donald Trump has begun his second term as president by ramping up pressure on Panama – threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal and accusing the country of ceding control of the strategically critical waterway to a US rival: China.

The canal’s two biggest ports are operated by a Hong Kong company with global reach. The Trump administration sees a Chinese threat to U.S. security.

President Trump is wrong when he says China controls the Panama Canal. But the U.S. rival does have influence there, and the administration is moving to counter it.