Donald Trump's regional ambitions: Desire for control of the Panama Canal and Greenland

 Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Islamabad (UrduPoint News Today/ Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2025 ) When Donald Trump was bluntly asked during a press conference whether he would not use military or economic pressure to gain control of Greenland and the strategic Panama Canal, he replied, "I can't assure you of either of those.

But I can say for sure, we need them for economic security."

Trump reiterates offer to make Canada the 51st US state

The extraordinary statement came as Trump outlined an expansionist agenda two weeks before he was sworn in in Washington on January 20.

What did Trump say?

Trump also vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and reiterated his promise to impose significant tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

"It covers a lot of territory. 'Gulf of America' is such a beautiful name."

Trump's controversial statement on the Panama Canal and the protests against it

His promise to change the name of the gulf brought back memories of the renaming of Denali, North America's highest mountain, to Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama renamed the Alaskan mountain despite opposition from Native Americans.

Normally, the United States Board of Geographic Names determines geographical names, although several US presidents have also changed the names of geographical features through executive orders.

Panama's response

Panama reiterated on Tuesday that the sovereignty of the Panama Canal is not up for debate.

Panama's Javier Martinez-Acha said President Jose Raul Milleno has made his position clear.

"There is no negotiation on the sovereignty of our canal and this canal is part of the history of our struggle."

Consider buying all of Greenland, Trump tells advisers

Martinez-Acha dismissed Trump's statement, saying, "Panama has the sole right to manage and control the canal and it will remain that way."

Panama's president called Trump's statement "nonsense."

Trump had wished Chinese soldiers a Merry Christmas in a December statement, saying, "They are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal."

China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal after the United States, and is also a major investor in the Central American country.

Two ports at the canal's entrances are managed by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings and Beijing has financed a new bridge over the waterway, but China neither owns nor controls the canal, and there is no evidence of Chinese military involvement.

'Hamas hostages not released, doomsday will break out'

Trump told a news conference: "If the Israeli hostages are not released by the time I take office, there will be doomsday in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas, and frankly it will not be good for anyone."

Trump repeated six times that if the hostages are not released, "there will be doomsday."

His Middle East envoys were also present at the news conference. Envoy Steve Witkoff said of recent high-level talks that his team was close to reaching an agreement and that he would return to the region in the coming days.

Addressing his envoy, Trump said, "I don't want to hurt your negotiations."

Canada's response

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected US President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion that he could use "economic power" to make Canada the 51st US state.

"There is no illusion, not even in the imagination, that Canada will become part of the United States," Trudeau said on social media platform X.

"Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other's largest trading and security partners," he said.

"If Canada were to merge with the United States, there would be no tariffs, taxes would be greatly reduced, and they would be completely safe from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships constantly surrounding them.

Together, what a great nation that would be!!!"

What did Trump say about the Ukraine war?

Speaking about the Ukraine war, Trump reiterated his commitment to resolving the conflict in Ukraine. He expressed interest in meeting with the Russian president.

However, he did not elaborate on how he would resolve the issue.

When asked about Kiev's demand to join NATO, which is part of the Ukraine peace plan, Trump said that he thought it was always understood that Ukraine would not be included in the security alliance.

Asked what he would do on his first day in office, Trump said he would announce "major pardons." He was responding to a question about the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes in connection with the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.