"Chicoms already at our back door in Panama"
You need to do some reading about Panama.
We gave the canal back to them at the right time. We had 100 years of managing it while it was a profitable canal. Now, it needs billions (with a B, Big B) of $$$ of upgrades to continue into the 21st century. New locks need to be made to accommodate the larger ships, which means larger cuts in the whole canal. It is going to be extremely difficult for the Panamanian people to come up with the financing for the new canal.
If we still managed the canal, we, as U.S. tax payers, would be asked to finance the improvements. IMHO, we bailed out of the canal at the right time......Bob