American access to the Panama Canal, one of several new directives outlined in what amounts to a major overhaul of US strategic priorities, according to a new memo that was sent to senior leaders and reviewed by CNN.

Potential plans range from partnering more closely with Panamanian security forces to a less likely option of U.S. troops' seizing the canal by force, U.S. officials told NBC News.

The US military is reviewing options to secure access to the Panama Canal following President Donald Trump’s calls to “take back” the waterway. Trump claims Panama has broken past agreements and accuses China of exerting influence over the canal,

Shares of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison sank after a critical commentary by a Chinese state-owned newspaper about the $22.8 billion sale.

China’s top office on Hong Kong affairs has reposted an attack on CK Hutchison’s decision to sell its Panama Canal ports, amplifying a Beijing-backed newspaper’s warnings for the Li Ka-shing-owned conglomerate to “think twice” about which side it stands on.

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company CK Hutchison Holdings, which recently sold its Panama Canal ports, should think twice about which side it wants to stand with, according to a scathing newspaper commentary posted by Beijing’s top office for the city’s affairs on its website.