Trump refuses to rule out using military to take Panama Canal and Greenland
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Remarks likely to set off alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House this month. Donald Trump is refusing to rule out using American military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, citing economic security as a driving factor.
Speaking at a Tuesday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, the incoming US president explicitly declined to give assurances against using military or economic coercion when pressed about his plans regarding Panama and Greenland. “I can’t assure you on either of those two,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question. “But I can say this, we need them for economic security.”.
The remarks came during a rambling session with journalists at his Florida resort home and will probably set off diplomatic alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House later this month with an agenda of muscular American nationalism.
Trump claimed the Panama Canal, which was transferred to Panamanian control in 1999 under a 1977 treaty, was being “operated by China”, an assertion that comes amid his repeated calls for the strategic waterway to be returned to US control. “The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said. “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China. China! And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn’t give it to China.”.
