Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" in laying out plans for space exploration.

Donald Trump's aggressive stance on the Panama Canal risks setting a dangerous precedent. It could offer China a blueprint to justify its territorial ambitions. Critics say Trump's stance could embolden Beijing's expansionism in Taiwan and the South China Sea,

Donald Trump cast himself both as a peacemaker and fierce defender of US interests in a mercurial return to the White House on Monday, vowing to seize the Panama Canal