Donald Trump continues to talk about his expansionist ambitions and does not rule out using force to take control of Greenland or Panama.
Donald Trump persists and signs. While he has several times mentioned expansionist projects in a more or less serious tone in recent days, the American president-elect, who will be officially inaugurated on January 20, confirmed his desire to place several territories under American control during a provocative speech on Tuesday, January 7, at his residence in Mar-A-Lago, Florida. In its viewfinder, the Panama Canal and Greenland. “The Panama Canal is vital for our country. We need Greenland for reasons of national security,” he said to justify his ambitions.
Motivated by economic, commercial and military issues, Donald Trump does not seem to be joking when he says he plans to take control of these territories. Concerning Panama, he has mentioned this possibility several times and recently complained about the toll rates applied to American ships, going so far as to suspect Chinese influence. And on Tuesday January 7, he openly criticized the agreement made by his predecessor Jimmy Carter, in 1977, which allowed Panama to have total control of the canal which crosses its territory but which was built by the United States . A mistake according to the future American president. As for Greenland, Donald Trump estimated that his offer to buy the Arctic island made during his first term could, in the coming years, become an agreement impossible for Denmark to refuse.
These statements are accompanied by something new: the 78-year-old billionaire has for the first time mentioned a possible use of force. From his residence, Donald Trump declared that he did not rule out the use of military force to take control of these territories: “I cannot assure you, on either of them.”
“America first”: Trump’s only compass
Donald Trump’s position is not that surprising, it only follows the logic of the future tenant of the White House: America first. This slogan does not so much mean “only America” as “everything for America”, including what does not belong to it (yet?). If he believes that the borders of the United States must be firmly protected, the septuagenarian does not consider those of other countries with the same sacred character. Donald Trump’s expansionist thinking was also illustrated at the time of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine when he described an act of “genius” as recalled by New York Times. The American has never condemned the forced annexation of several Ukrainian regions by Russia and in his eyes the reestablishment of the initial borders is not a sine qua non condition for a peace agreement between Moscow and kyiv, unlike Joe Biden and NATO.
Should we fear that Donald Trump will try, like Vladimir Putin, to take the Panama Canal and Greenland by force? By acting in this way, Donald Trump would place the United States on the same level as Russia and its authoritarian regime imposing its vision on the rest of the world.
Clear opposition to Donald Trump’s ambitions
If Donald Trump has clearly exposed his expansionist desires, the opposition has also made itself heard, starting with the countries directly threatened. In Panama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled that “the sovereignty of our canal was not negotiable”, repeating the words of its President on the maritime axis considered as an “irreversible conquest”, due to the agreement with Jimmy Carter. And in Greenland the Prime Minister reaffirmed on behalf of his territory: “We are not for sale and never will be. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
Greenland can count on the support of other countries to defend its borders, such as France. Since the Arctic island is attached to Denmark, its borders are those of the European Union. However, “there is no question of the EU letting any other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders”, assured the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot on France Inter Wednesday, January 8. But you should know that Greenland is free to declare its independence, and has been since 2009. If it has not done so because it is too largely dependent on Denmark, the prospects for trade or economic investments with the United States could push the territory to review its position. Only Donald Trump is far from proposing as much independence as Denmark and no doubt he would prevent any exchange with China or Russia who are also interested in this region of the world and who are at the origin of the renewed interest in the American to this frozen piece of land.