The U.S. has voiced concerns over Chinas growing influence around the Panama Canal, with Mauricio Claver-Carone, U.S. special envoy for Latin America, warning of national security risks. His remarks come ahead of U.

US senators heard sharply different analyses about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal on Wednesday, with some experts suggesting solutions ranging from enhanced trade partnerships to military intervention to regain control of the strategic waterway.

Some U.S. lawmakers and officials are touting a nearly half-century-old treaty between the United States and Panama to justify the Trump administration's threat to reclaim the Panama Canal - provided it can show the strategic waterway's operation is under threat.