The administrator of the Panama Canal said Friday that the vital waterway will remain in Panamanian hands and open to commerce from all countries, rejecting claims by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States should take it over.

The Panama Canal Authority chief dismissed President-elect Trump’s claims that China is controlling the trade route and criticized his comments about fees. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales told The Wall

Donald Trump has refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal that was returned by the US to Panama decades ago.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

The canal executive said China doesn’t control route and U.S. ships can’t get better rates than others.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) will introduce a bill that would authorize the president to purchase the Panama Canal and put it under U.S. control, an acquisition that President-elect Trump has been

S.D., introduced the Panama Canal Repurchase Act, co-sponsored by 15 other House Republicans, amid President-elect Trump's concerns.