India, April 27 -- US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that American military and commercial ships should be allowed to travel through the Panama Canal and Suez Canal for free.

"American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals! Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"I've asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialize, this situation!" he added.

The Panama Canal crosses the narrowest part of the isthmus between North and South America, allowing ships to move more quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It carries about 40% of U.S. container traffic each...