President Trump wants to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal due to Chinese concerns. Marco Rubio

 Chinese activities and influence in the Arctic and Latin America are justified for US national security. US Secretary of State's speech

Saturday 1 February 2025

Washington (Point News / Sputnik - 1 February 2025) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and regain control of the Panama Canal is based on legitimate national security interests, given growing concerns about Chinese activities and influence in the Arctic and Latin America.

Marco Rubio, speaking ahead of a trip to Central America, said he could not predict whether Trump would be able to buy Greenland from Denmark or restore American authority over the Panama Canal while in office.

He said that the attention Trump pays to both places will have an impact and that American interests will be “much safer” in four years. Rubio said that “I think what you can be sure of is that four years from now our interests in the Arctic will be much safer, our interests in the Panama Canal will be much safer.”

Rubio will arrive in Panama today on his first official foreign trip as the top U.S. diplomat, reflecting the importance he and Trump place on the Panama Canal. He said that while immigration will be a major topic of discussion in Panama and elsewhere during his visit, the canal issue is a priority. He said that Chinese investment in ports and other infrastructure on both the Pacific and Caribbean ends of the canal is a major cause for concern, which could threaten Panama and the vital shipping route from China. Rubio said that Chinese companies are present throughout Panama. U.S. experts believe that these companies are subordinate to the government in Beijing and would follow orders to cut off or limit traffic through the canal in the event of a dispute with Taiwan or any other deterioration in relations with the United States.

He said that if the Chinese government asks them to close the Panama Canal in a dispute, they will have to. He said that he has no doubt that they have contingency plans to do so, which is a direct threat. The US Secretary of State said that if China wanted to block traffic in the Panama Canal, it could do so, and that would violate former President Jimmy Carter's 1977 agreement under which the US handed control of the US-built canal to Panama in 1999. He also echoed Trump's complaint that US ships are being overcharged to use the canal, which would also violate the agreement.

"We should not be in a position to pay more than other countries. In fact, we should get a discount or maybe even free because we paid for it," he said. Earlier, Panamanian President Jose Raul Millano said there would be no talks with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal and that he hoped Rubio's visit would instead focus on common interests such as combating immigration and drug trafficking. He said it was impossible to return the canal to American control. "It is clear that the canal belongs to Panama." However, the US Secretary of State says that we will discuss this issue. He said that the president is very clear that he wants to re-manage the canal. Maybe the people of Panama don't like this idea very much, but our message has been very clear. Regarding Greenland, he said that Denmark, of which Greenland is a part, does not have the ability to defend Greenland from China, while it wants to have a presence in the Arctic to take advantage of the shipping lanes. He said that since Greenland is already under a NATO mutual defense agreement due to its relationship with Denmark, it makes sense for the United States to have a greater presence and authority there. Rubio said that I know this is a sensitive issue for Denmark, but it is a matter of national interest for the United States.