LATEST: Trudeau tells Trump there's 'not a snowball's chance in hell' Canada will join US
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday raised his stance on Greenland and Panama, saying he would not rule out using military force to exert US control over the Arctic island and the central American nation's strategic canal.
At an hour-long media briefing in Florida, Mr Trump spoke of his expansionist plans for his second term in office and threatened to use “economic force” to annex Canada and make it the 51st state in the US.
He has long had designs on Greenland and first floated the idea of buying the Danish autonomous territory in 2019. He sees the vast frozen island as important for US national security because of its strategic location. The territory's melting ice sheet also covers deposits of rare earth minerals.
He also wants the US, which built the Panama Canal at great financial and human cost in the early 1900s, to regain control of the waterway it gave to Panama in 1999. The 82km canal connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean and Mr Trump claimed that Panama is overcharging US vessels to use it, and that China “is basically taking it over”.
He refused to assure the world that he is not going to use military or economic coercion to gain control of Greenland or the Panama Canal.
“I'm not going to commit to that,” Mr Trump said. “I can’t assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security.”
In a statement last month as he announced his pick for US ambassador to Denmark, he wrote: “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
His eldest son, Donald Jr, visited Greenland on Tuesday and said locals “just want to be able to utilise some of the incredible resources” the territory has.
With Canada, Mr Trump repeated old grievances that Ottawa is ripping off the US by not investing enough in its own military. He said the US subsidises Canada and does not need its products, including cars, lumber and milk.
“They don't essentially have a military. They have a very small military. They rely on our military. It's all fine, but you know, they've got to pay for that. It's very unfair,” he said.
Denmark and Canada have dismissed Mr Trump's statements as fantastical, but his speech on Tuesday shows he is determined to use his “America first” philosophy to demand greater concessions from long-time allies.
“It would really be something if you get rid of that artificially drawn line,” he said, referring to the US-Canada border. “We’ve been good neighbours but we can’t do it forever”.
Mr Trump has threatened Mexico and Canada with new tariffs if they do not do more to stem the flow of migrants and illegal drugs across US borders.
He also suggested that his administration would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, the south-eastern body of water the US shares with its southern neighbour, to the “Gulf of America”.
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
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Torque: 250Nm
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Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
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A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
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Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
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