The appeal came after the US embassy in Panama City announced a project to replace communications tower equipment made by Chinese company Huawei with "secure US technology."

An embassy statement said Wednesday that under President Donald Trump's leadership, "the United States is working to counter China's malign influence in our hemisphere, making the Americas stronger and safer."

Mulino warned the diplomatic mission against trying "to draw Panama into a geopolitical conflict between China and the United States."

"Let them fight their problem in Washington or Beijing, but not in Panama's backyard," the right-wing leader said at his weekly news conference.

Tensions have flared between Panama and the United States in recent months, notably over Trump's threats to "take back" the Panama Canal, which he alleges has come under Chinese influence.

Panamanian Security Minister Frank Abrego said that the telecommunications project at the center of the latest spat had been in development for almost a decade.

Panama installed several communication towers in 2017 in the eastern province of Darien using its own funds.

The United States later offered to fund the $8 million project but asked to modify it because the equipment did not meet its military security requirements, Abrego said.