Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump is not ruling out military or tariff pressure to achieve his plans to acquire control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, the President-elect told a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.
Since winning the U.S. presidential election in early November, Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, has said on several occasions that he would pursue the acquisition of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, from Denmark, as well as the Panama Canal in Central America.
The President-elect has said that Greenland is important for the U.S. national security while control over the Panama Canal would be of importance to the U.S. economy.
At the Mar-a-Lago press conference, Trump refused to assure the world and America’s allies – which include Denmark – that he would not use economic or military pressure to take control over Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security,” the President-elect said.
Trump also criticized the lower spending of the U.S. NATO allies and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Last month, Trump threatened to take over control of the Panama Canal unless the Panamanian authorities stop charging excessive rate for the use of the chokepoint.
Among other vital purposes for cargo traffic, the Panama Canal is the fastest route for American LNG to Asia.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said at a conservative event in Arizona in December. “Because we're being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we're being ripped off everywhere else.”
The statements prompted an immediate response from the president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, who said that Panama’s sovereignty was non-negotiable and Panama had sole authority over the infrastructure.
The canal was built by the United States in the early 20th century. Panama granted the U.S. the right to build and operate the canal in exchange for annual payments. Ownership over the infrastructure was passed to the Panamanian government in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. The deal granted control over the Panama Canal to the local government under the obligation of maintaining its neutrality.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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