US helicopters have arrived in Panama to begin collaborative training exercises with local security forces, as tensions mount over the strategic waterway's future amid competing US and Chinese interests.

The week-long "Panamax Alfa 2025" Phase I exercise commenced on July 13 with three US Army aircraft—two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook—touching down at Panama-Pacific Airport, the former Howard US military base. The drills, scheduled to run until July 18, involve personnel from Panama's National Aeronaval Service (SENAN), the National Police, and the National Border Service across three strategic locations in Panama, Colón, and Darién provinces.

Michael Palacios, SENAN's subcommissioner, stated the exercises would prepare Panama's forces, as well as countries in the region, against any potential threats to the security and defence of the canal. The training encompasses specialised operations including embarkation and disembarkation manoeuvres, fast rope insertion techniques, rescue crane extraction, and communications exercises with offshore platforms.

The joint exercises take place against a backdrop of escalating rhetoric from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to reclaim control of the Panama Canal and vowed to "take back" the waterway without ruling out military action. Trump has claimed China wields excessive influence over the canal, which handles approximately 40% of US container traffic and 5% of global seaborne trade. In April, he called for the free transit of American commercial and military vessels through the inter-oceanic route, asserting the canal would "not exist" without the US.

However, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has rejected Trump's request, maintaining that toll fees are set by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route. Mulino has also reaffirmed the "neutrality" of the Panama Canal in any armed conflict, citing the country's commitment to the waterway's impartial operation.

The current exercises represent the second deployment under a controversial bilateral agreement signed in April that permits Washington to utilise Panamanian air and naval bases for training purposes without establishing permanent installations. The first exercises, conducted last month, involved jungle warfare training between US forces and local security personnel. This memorandum of understanding, which some view as paving the way for full-fledged US military intervention in the country, sparked protests within Panama, where American military presence remains a thorny issue given the historical context of US bases that existed before the canal's handover to Panama in 1999.

The security pact emerged amid broader geopolitical tensions over alleged Chinese influence in the region. Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, which controls two key terminals at the canal's entrance, has bowed to White House pressure and moved to sell the ports to BlackRock as part of a $22.8bn agreement, though the deal has stalled following criticism from Beijing. In February, Mulino's administration also confirmed Panama had withdrawn from China's Belt and Road Initiative, making it the first Latin American nation to exit President Xi Jinping's trillion-dollar infrastructure programme.

SENAN officials have emphasised that the manoeuvres will be conducted "with full respect for national sovereignty" and noted that such exercises have been held for over 20 years. The training is coordinated by personnel from the US Southern Command, headquartered in Florida, as part of Joint Task Force-Bravo operations.

The deployment has triggered significant domestic opposition, with trade unions and civic organisations staging demonstrations that argue the arrangement "violates national sovereignty" and represents a veiled return to American military presence. Critics fear the exercises could pave the way for a gradual reintroduction of US bases, despite official assurances to the contrary. These protests reflect deep-seated concerns about foreign military presence in a country that achieved full control of the canal only 26 years ago under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.

Mulino's administration has defended the military arrangement as necessary to combat organised crime and drug trafficking whilst ensuring the canal's uninterrupted operation. Officials maintain that Panama retains complete control over its military facilities and that each deployment requires explicit approval from Panamanian authorities.

But Panamanians view the tensions between the United States and China regarding their presence around the Panama Canal as a threat to the principle of neutrality of this maritime artery. In response to such concerns, SENAN has stated that the exercises aim to strengthen "preparedness for threats to the security of the Panama Canal and other strategic infrastructure" in the country.

The latest drills are yet another reminder of the delicate balance Panama must maintain between honouring its defence cooperation agreements with Washington and preserving its sovereignty and the canal's neutral status. As geopolitical tensions continue to simmer over this crucial shipping lane, the exercises represent a symbolic victory for President Trump's pressure campaign, demonstrating renewed US-Panama military cooperation in an increasingly complex regional security environment where China continues to gain ground.