As his inauguration draws closer President-elect Trump has created a stir by suggesting that the United States obtain Greenland and take back the Panama Canal Zone which Trump says the United States "foolishly" ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged "ridiculous" fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Panama took control of the Canal in 1999, completing an agreement that was signed 22 years earlier.
Trump also said on Truth Social that the communist Chinese are illegally operating the Panama Canal.
As far as Greenland, Trump wrote the "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity" for US national security.
Robert Knight is a columnist for the Washington Times.
"Greenland and Panama are totally different situations. I don't know that Denmark would take a monetary offering in return for Greenland, but I do know that it means that the United States will be more active in the seas around Greenland with our Navy. And that's a message to the Communist Chinese,” he said.
Panama says, ‘Not so fast’
Not surprisingly, there was immediate pushback from Panama on Trump’s desire that America reclaim the Canal.
"The Panamanian government has pushed back on President Trump's interest in reasserting American control of the canal. I don't know how that will play out, but I can't imagine that the Panamanian government will feel free to allow the communist Chinese even more control over the. Canal than they have now. That'll stop dead in its tracks at the very least."
