'Hands off' the canal applies to US as well

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, during his visit to Panama, that the Panama Canal faces ongoing "threats" from China but the United States and the Central American country will keep it secure.

This brazenly calls black white. As the Chinese embassy in Panama said, "People have their own judgement on which party represents the real threat to the Panama Canal."

Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new US-financed dock at the Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Naval Base after a meeting with Panama President José Raúl Mulino, Hegseth said the US will not allow China or any other country to threaten the canal's operation.