More bullying:

Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging “exorbitant prices” to American shipping and naval vessels.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday. “This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop,” he said, referring to when he takes office next month.

His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama’s president, who said “every square metre” of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country.

Also, and more frivolously, Trump is a funny guy to complain about rip-offs, given all the gilded trash with his name on it he markets.

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Up to 14,000 ships travel through it each year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels.

It was built in the early 1900s. The US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999. The US reserved the right to use military force in defence of the canal against any threat to its neutrality – a threat which now appears to be coming from the US itself.

So that’s cool: we won’t have to spend any money defending the canal.

The neutrality treaty guarantees fair access for all nations and non-discriminatory tolls. Different shipping companies do pay different amounts for passing through the canal – but this depends on the size of the ship and the load on board, not on the country of origin.

Canal transit costs have increased over the past year due to a historic drought, according to analysis by leading shipping industry website Lloyd’s List. Some 75% of the cargo passing through the waterway in the latest fiscal year was either destined for or originated from the US, according to the Panama Canal Authority.

However, the users of the canal are ship operators and owners, not countries themselves.

Well yeah but some of those operators and owners are USAians so we gotta fight.