PANAMA CITY: Near the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China's contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down Saturday night by order of local authorities.
The move comes as US President Donald Trump has made threats in recent months to retake control of the canal, claiming Beijing has too much influence in its operations.
In a surprising move that has been criticized by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor's office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolize friendship between the countries.
The mayor's office said in a statement that the monument, which overlooked the waterway spanning Bridge of the Americas, had structural damage that posed a "risk."
But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Sunday that "there is no justification whatsoever for the barbarity committed," calling it "an unforgivable act of irrationality."
After personally inspecting the demolition, China's ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan said it was a "great pain for bilateral friendship," noting the insult to 300,000 Chinese-Panamanians.
Some members of the Chinese community witnessed the destruction but police prevented them from reaching the lookout to stop it, according to videos published by local media.
In a video posted to X, the Chinese embassy called for a "thorough investigation" of the case and to "severely sanction" the "illegal, improper and vandalistic" actions.
The US and China are the main users of the 80-kilometer canal, which sees the passage of five percent of global maritime trade.
The Panama Canal was under US control from 1914 to 1999, when it was taken over by Panama.
Trump has demanded preferential conditions for its use by US vessels.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Holdings operates two ports on the Pacific and the Atlantic, but has agreed to sell them to US-based BlackRock.