Better access to Panama Canal

Recently, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Panama to talk about, among other things, U.S. access to the Panama Canal and ridding the canal of China’s influence.
“Secretary Hegseth traveled to Panama this week and delivered huge wins for the Trump administration and the American people,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell during the Weekly Sitrep video, which highlights department activities each week.
“The United States secured ‘first and free’ canal passage for U.S. military vessels and agreed to reestablish and enhance joint military training with Panama. We’re taking back the Panama Canal from malign Chinese interests and making the Americas great again,” Parnell said.
During that visit, the United States and Panama signed both a memorandum of understanding on cooperative security activities and a joint declaration regarding the security and operation of the Panama Canal, which, in part, provides a framework allowing U.S. warships and auxiliary ships to sail first and free through the canal.
The Panama Canal, built by the United States and completed in 1914, serves as a passageway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Ships passing through the canal avoid a much longer route around the southern tip of South America. The canal reduces the time and cost of traveling by ship between the east and west coasts of the United States.