U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday warned Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino that Washington will "take measures necessary" if Panama does not immediately take steps to end what President Donald Trump sees as China's influence and control over the Panama Canal.

President Trump has made a “preliminary determination” that Chinese influence violates a treaty that assures the canal's neutrality, Rubio said.

Rubio told Mulino that Trump considered China’s involvement in the canal a threat and that urgent action was needed.