Rubio tells Panama leaders US will take action if they don't curtail China's influence at canal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States will take action if Panama didn't start to reduce Chinese influence around the Panama Canal. 

Rubio took a trip to Panama on Sunday to meet with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha.

This is his first overseas trip as secretary of state, according to NPR.

Rubio told the Panamanian leaders that President Donald Trump has made it a top priority to minimize the influence and control that the Chinese Communist Party has over the Panama Canal, according to a State Department summary of the conversation. 

"Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty," department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

Trump in the past has said that he wants to take back control of the Panama Canal, arguing that Panama has allowed China to gain too much control over it. 

The canal is important to global trade and used by many countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.