President-elect , Donald Trump , didn’t rule out usage of the , U. S.  , military to take control of the , Panama Canal , and , Greenland, if needed.
Trump, during , a press conference held Tuesday, said he is” not going to undertake to that”, when asked to rule out use of American forces to secure either place.
” It might be that you’ll have to do something.  , The Panama Canal , is vital to our state” he said, adding that,” we need , Greenland , for national security reasons”.
Trump’s comments appear as his brother,  , Donald Trump Jr.,  , is in , Greenland , on an illegal visit. Ahead of the attend, Trump said via his Truth Social media platform on Monday night that he’s “hearing that the persons of , Greenland , are’ MAGA.'”
” Greenland is an amazing place, and the people will benefit enormously if, and when, it becomes portion of our Nation. We will defend it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World” , , he wrote, capitalizations his.
Greenland , is now an automatic place of , NATO , member , Denmark. The island is home to about 60, 000 people and has its own Prime Minister and congress. When Trump first floated the idea of buying , Greenland , in 2019, Denmark’s Prime Minister , Mette Frederiksen, called the plan “absurd“, and during an interview on Danish TV , aired Tuesday  , she said that the area “belongs to the Greenlanders”.
However, this is not the first day the , U. S.  , state has considered making the area an American country.
According to , Maye Henning, a professor of politics and legal research at , Suffolk University, speak of acquiring , Greenland , occurred as early as the 1860s, when then-Secretary of State , William Seward , was considering the consolidation of , Alaska , from , Russia. The subject came up suddenly in 1917, when the , U. S.  , did get country from , Denmark , in buying the , Virgin Islands.
” There is precedence for this concept being floated”, she said.
Despite that, Henning said, Trump’s comments may seem “very out of pocket”, considering that for most of the past decade the , U. S.  , has avoided regional development in favor of allowing local populations to self-determine their own potential.
Beyond that, Henning said, the , U. S.  , hasn’t changed its regional restrictions for eight generations, since it acquired the Marina Islands.
There are strong norms regarding territorial stability, as well as strong norms for liberal democracy regarding the governed’s acceptance.  , Denmark , made it very clear that they are not ready to sell , Greenland , and my knowledge is that people of , Greenland , are quite opposed to coming under , U. S.  , sovereignty”, she said.
Henning claimed that the only method Trump gets what he wants is” through military action” and that buying the beach or persuading its citizens to visit the is how he gets it.
” Through war, generally, and battle to acquire , Greenland. That would be unheard of in the contemporary era,” she said.
There are proper motives for the , U. S.  , to acquire acquiring both the , Panama Canal , and , Greenland, Henning said.
Greenland’s glaciers are melting, she said, possible opening up that area for development and resource extraction while also creating new shipping routes as a result. The river that feeds the Panama Canal’s hair is drying up at the same time as it is experiencing prolonged drought, which means there are fewer ships that can pass through it in a day.
” Trump and another officials see this northern place as an alternative to the , Panama Canal”, she said.
The doctor said it is still to be seen whether Trump may carry on with his ideas. In the case of , Greenland, there is also an available issue over whether he would even need to consider the area. The , U. S.  , now foots the bill for defending , Greenland , and already has a huge martial presence there, she said.
” Why order the remainder of , Greenland , or go to battle over it when we now have existing legal options for activities such as contracts or rental land”? she asked.
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