Panama should secure canal with US not China, Hegseth says

PANAMA CITY, April 9 (Reuters) - 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.

"We are helping to take back the Panama Canal from communist Chinese influence," Hegseth told a press briefing in Panama City. The Panamanian government has strongly rejected U.S. allegations the key waterway is controlled by China.