President-elect Donald Trump spoke about U.S. national security concerns during a lengthy news conference Tuesday. Control of Greenland and the Panama CanalHe also stated that he would not rule out the use of military force.
Below we take a look at where these two locations are and why Trump wants the US to control them.
Where is Greenland? Why does President Trump want to control it?
Greenland is located northeast of Canada, and most of it is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet. Although it is the world’s largest island, it has a population of only about 60,000 people and is a semi-autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark, with its own elected government.
Its location between the United States, Russia, and Europe makes it strategic for both economic and defense purposes, especially due to melting sea ice. Developed a new route through the North Pole.
It is also the location of the northernmost US military base.
“We need Greenland for our national security,” President Trump said Tuesday. “I’m talking about protecting the free world. If you look outside, you don’t even need binoculars. There are Chinese ships everywhere. There are Russian ships everywhere. We won’t let that happen.” ”
European University of St. Petersburg
The Northwest Passage, or Northern Sea Route, first traveled by Russian merchant ships in the winter several years ago, is a short sea route connecting major ports in East Asia with Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Western countries are have already expressed concerns Russia and China are using it to increase their presence in the North Atlantic.
“The Americans have a strong interest in supervising the activities of foreign countries in Greenland. “It could be considered a security threat,” Frank Sagersen, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, told CBS News on Wednesday.
Pernille Benjaminsen, a Greenlandic human rights lawyer, told CBS News that relations between Greenland’s semi-autonomous government and the Danish government have become increasingly strained in recent years, and President Trump may be trying to take advantage of them. spoke.
“He noticed the tension between Denmark and Greenland and saw an opportunity there,” she said.
Greenland also has oil, natural gas, and highly sought after mineral resources.
Jose W. Fernandez, the U.S. Department of State’s undersecretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment, said these mineral resources, including rare earth elements, “are only marginally explored or exploited,” at a Mineral Security Partnership meeting in Greenland. mentioned at the event. November.
A 2023 report assessing Greenland’s resources suggests that Greenland may have large reserves of up to 31 different minerals, including lithium and graphite, which are needed to produce electric vehicle batteries. . Those deposits could be of interest to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who became a close ally of President Trump after providing more than $270 million to support him and other Republican candidates last year. expensive.
Currently, lithium production is dominated by Australia, Chile and China, which produces about 65% of the world’s graphite, the report said.
A 2023 report says Greenland has the potential to produce large amounts of rare earth minerals such as neodymium, which are used to make magnets used in electric motors.
Currently, China produces about 70% of rare earth elements.
“The world currently relies too much on a small number of actors for the extraction and processing of many critical minerals,” Fernandez said in November.
According to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung, demand for rare earth minerals exceeds supply, keeping prices high. Still, there are major hurdles to mining in Greenland, including environmental and cost issues.
What is the Panama Canal and why does President Trump want it?
According to industry publication CargoNOW, about 40% of U.S. container shipments currently transit through the Panama Canal. The canal serves as a shortcut between the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and beyond, the Atlantic Ocean.
President Trump has said the United States needs the Panama Canal for “economic security” and falsely claimed that the canal is “run by China.”
“The Panama Canal is extremely important to our country. It’s run by China. China! And we gave it to Panama. We didn’t give it to China, and China has misused it. They misused that gift. It should never have been made,” President Trump said.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino disputed Trump’s claims.
In late December, he said, “There is no Chinese interference or involvement whatsoever in connection with the Panama Canal.”
Elmrod Usvaliev/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha said on Tuesday that the Panamanian government had not recently formally discussed the canal with President Trump or his team, but that the canal would remain under Panama’s control. reiterated the president’s previous comments.
“Sovereignty of our canals is non-negotiable and part of our history of struggle and irreversible conquest,” Martinez Acha said.
China has also denied trying to claim control of the canal, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning saying in December that Beijing would “always respect Panama’s sovereignty over the canal and treat the canal as a permanently neutral international waterway.” I admit it.”
history of greenland
The Kingdom of Denmark began colonizing Greenland in the early 18th century, hundreds of years after the Vikings first arrived and settled there from the same distant land. The United States established a presence on the island after World War II, when Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Henrik Kaufmann, refused to surrender to the rule of Denmark’s Nazi occupiers.
Although Denmark was liberated from Nazi occupation in 1945, the United States never left its military base, Pitufik Cosmodrome, which remains the northernmost U.S. military installation.
History of the Panama Canal
of panama canal It was built by the United States between 1904 and 1914. It served as a shortcut between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, greatly shortening shipping routes from Asia to ports in the eastern United States.
It was first controlled by the U.S. government for decades, causing tensions with Panama.
In the 1970s, the United States and Panama signed a treaty agreeing to the permanent neutrality of the canal. The United States pledged to relinquish control of the canal and did so completely in 1999. The canal is currently managed by the Panama Canal Authority.
