Donald Trump, the U.S. President-elect who will return to the White House on the 20th (local time), stated that he would not exclude the option of using military force concerning the Panama Canal and the Danish territory of Greenland.
On the 7th, during his second press conference after his election victory at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, Trump was asked about excluding military or economic coercion to secure control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, to which he replied, “I cannot guarantee either.”
Trump emphasized that both the Panama Canal and Greenland are important for U.S. economic and national security, saying, “I will not promise to exclude that (use of economic or military coercion).”
Trump particularly mentioned that if Greenland’s residents vote for independence or assimilation into the U.S. and Denmark interferes, the U.S. would impose very high tariffs on Denmark.
Last month, Trump suggested that Panama might be required to hand back the canal if its toll fees weren’t reduced and expressed a willingness to purchase Greenland from Denmark.
Trump reiterated claims that Panama is charging excessive canal tolls to the U.S., stating, “We are discussing the Panama Canal (issue) with them (Panama),” and claimed, “They (the Panamanian side) have violated every aspect of the agreement, even morally.”
He also said, “They want the U.S. to provide $3 billion (about 4.3 trillion won) for canal maintenance,” adding, “So I said, ‘Why don’t you get that money from China?'”
Furthermore, Trump claimed, “China is operating the Panama Canal.”
However, Trump mentioned that regarding Canada, where he recently discussed ideas like imposing high tariffs and possible assimilation into the U.S., he would use “economic coercion” rather than military force.
Trump also argued that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should spend 5% of their GDP on defense.
This demand significantly surpasses the current guideline of 2%.
Meanwhile, Trump mentioned that Hussein Sajwani, the UAE billionaire and chairman of DAMAC Properties, has decided to invest $20 billion (about 29 trillion won) in establishing data centers across the U.S.
This press conference was the second since Trump’s victory in the presidential election held on November 5 of the previous year, and the first conducted after the joint session of Congress concluded the certification process of the election results.