Trump: a diplomatic tone between intimidation and provocation

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 charter [des Nations Unies] very clearly states the need for any Member State to respect the territorial integrity of other members.”

Panama Canal

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 the 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.

The sovereignty of the Panama Canal “is not negotiable,” Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said on Tuesday, in response to annexation threats from US President-elect Donald Trump. “The president, José Raúl Mulino, has already declared that the sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable,” the minister said, adding that the canal was “an irreversible conquest.”

Greenland subject

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.

Relations with Canada

Regarding 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 “51^e American 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.

“Never, ever, will Canada be part of the United States,” said resigning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, reacting for the first time to Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the idea of ​​making Canada the 51st American state .

“Governor Trudeau”

In recent weeks, the American president-elect, who is due to enter the White House in less than two weeks, has repeatedly raised the possibility of the United States and Canada merging. And he also often spoke of “Governor Trudeau”, in reference to the title of the head of the executive branch of an American state.

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, by 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 47^e American president on January 20, is seriously considering expanding the territory of the United States, including by using the army, or if these resounding declarations only serve to establish a balance of power to obtain economic or political concessions.

NATO countries should increase their defense budgets

President-elect Donald Trump also said Tuesday that NATO countries must increase their defense budgets to 5% of their GDP after repeatedly repeating that members of the Alliance were not doing enough to ensure their protection. .

“They can all afford it,” said the Republican billionaire. “They should be at 5%, not 2%,” he added during a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida (southeast). “We have something called an ocean between us, don’t we? Why are we paying billions and billions of dollars more than Europe?,” he asked.

The former and future American president makes no secret of the little regard he has for the Atlantic Alliance, a pillar of security in Europe since the Second World War, repeatedly repeating that its members do not pay enough in exchange for the protection of the United States.

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