Donald Trump continued on Tuesday to put forward the idea of a vast territorial expansion of the United States, without it being possible to say whether these are serious projects or provocations intended to extract economic or political concessions.
He made economic threats against Canada, and refused to rule out the military option for the Panama Canal and Greenland, in statements that reached the United Nations.
Asked about the unprecedented scenario of a forceful annexation of these two territories by the Americans, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said: “The (United Nations) charter very clearly states the need for all Member State to respect the territorial integrity of other members.”
Concerning the very strategic maritime axis of Central America and the immense Arctic territory, Donald Trump judged that both were “very important for the economic security” of the United States during a press conference.
“I cannot assure you about either of them,” declared the president-elect in particular, when asked about a possible use of armed forces to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland.
“It is China, China, which manages” the Panama Canal, assured the 78-year-old Republican, who will be sworn in on January 20, about this artery which belongs to the sovereign state of Panama.
Concerning Greenland, he assured that taking control of it was a question of “national security”, citing movements of Russian and Chinese boats, and threatened Denmark with “very high” customs duties if it did not give up not to this autonomous territory.
-If Donald Trump’s fixation on Panama is relatively new, his interest in Greenland is not: he had already mentioned the idea of buying the island during his first term, attracting a sharp refusal from the authorities local. His son Donald Jr. was there on a private trip Tuesday.
Concerning Canada, in the midst of a political transition since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, Donald Trump has ruled out sending the army. But he threatened to use “economic force” after asserting the day before that it was in the country’s interest to become the American “51st state”.
“It would really be something to get rid of this artificially drawn line,” he said about the American-Canadian border, before detailing his grievances against the big neighbor to the North, accused of profiting cheaply from very expensive military protection from the United States.
Already during his first term, the Republican had developed a speech presenting the allies of the United States as profiteers whom he was going to bring back into line, juggling as he did on Tuesday, between ambiguity and provocation.
It is impossible to say at this stage whether Donald Trump, who will become the 47th American president on January 20, is seriously considering increasing the territory of the United States, including by using the army, or whether these resounding sorties only serve to establish a balance of power to obtain economic or political concessions.
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