President-elect Donald Trump is making news even before assuming the presidency. This is not surprising because he is known for his mercurial and unpredictable stances on many global as well as bilateral issues. Trump has already indicated that he would revisit many of the international agreements that do not serve America’s interests. He has also threatened to increase tariffs on imports from many countries that are against America’s economic interests. Such tough decisions could damage America’s relations with its trading partners. But that is Trump for the world to understand and learn to deal with.

Even before taking office on January 20, Trump has threatened to seize the Panama Canal, revived calls to buy Greenland and even joked about annexing Canada, leaving the world guessing once again whether he is serious or not. Experts opine that Trump’s rhetoric could be a ‘message’ for China, which has increased its influence in Latin America and the Arctic. By such pronouncements, Trump even before returning to the Oval office has challenged the sovereignty of some of America’s closest allies, thereby underscoring his credentials as global disrupter-in-chief. Analysts have begun to interpret that Trump would be harsher on American friends than on adversaries such as Russia and China. Trump has floated the idea of the US buying the vast strategic island of Greenland, a Danish territory, which he also had stated during his first term in office.

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Now he has repeated the idea when naming PayPal cofounder Ken Howery as his ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark and said “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for US national security. Howery said he would work to deepen the bonds between the US, Denmark and Greenland, but Trump was rebuffed when Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede answered that the resource-rich island was “not for sale”. Howery was an ambassador to Sweden from 2019 to 2021, under Trump’s first administration. Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland in 2019 had triggered tensions between the US and Denmark. On that occasion, Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had described Trump’s proposal as absurd and made it clear Greenland was not for sale. There are other considerations behind Trump’s temptation to grab Greenland.

Like other resources, such as copper of which Greenland has plenty, countries should be able to transact land, Trump reasons, based on international norms on free and fair terms. In any such land transaction, the consent of the people is a must. With a positive intent, such transactions could make the world more peaceful, prosperous and habitable for more of humanity. At this point Denmark is not willing to make a sale. But it is not as if Greenland had been theirs from times immemorial. European invaders occupied many parts of the world and claimed these as their own over time. Likewise, when Tsar Alexa – nder II sold Alaska to the US, the tribes too were handed over as objects. Similarly when Napoleon sold Louisiana, he was not concerned about the local population. But things are perceived and seen differently in present times. Trump can have his way if the majority of the Greenland population of which 96 per cent are Inuit endorse such an idea. A transaction in such a way shall be perfectly legitimate in international law. But what grabbed the headlines was Trump’s remarks on Panama when he slammed what he called unfair fees for US ships passing through and threatened to demand that control of the Panama Canal be returned to Washington.

Trump was categorical that if Panama did not agree, the US can have the right to demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the US “in full, quickly and without question”. When Jimmy Carter was the US President, he and the leader of Panama, Omar Torrijos, had signed treaties obliging the US to surrender control of the Canal by 1999, settling a longstanding point of friction between the two countries. Carter saw the move as an overdue show of American resolve to deal with the developing and small nations of the world on the basis of mutual respect and partnership. Conservatives denounced the treaties as a giveaway. Gallup found that 78 percent of Americans opposed the treaties. The Canal was built by the United States in 1914 to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was returned to Panama under a 1977 deal. Adding to this threat, Trump threatened new anti drug tariffs on ‘day 1’ for China, Canada, Mexico and hinted at China’s growing influence around the canal. Trump also teased neighbouring Canada that it would be a great idea for it to become the 51st US state ~ but against a dark backdrop of threatened tariffs.

Trump complains that Canada makes almost $100 billion in trade with the US. Trump is also harsh in his comments and treatment of US allies in stark contrast to his repeated praise for the leaders of American foes, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite his invasion of Ukraine having led to international opprobrium. The big question that puzzles is if Trump’s comments on buying Greenland were a subtle message to China, presently America’s biggest adversary. This is because Trump feels that Beijing has been incrementally spreading its influence. Trump is concerned about China’s growing presence in the Arctic and is worried about China’s growing ties with Russia. Trump may be sending a message to Denmark not to be too cosy with China. However, any US plan to “buy” Greenland would be unfeasible, not just in international law but more broadly in the global order that the US has been trying to uphold.

Trump’s statement on Canada becoming America’s 51st state caught the world’s attention. Trump reasoned that Canadians would ‘save massively on taxes and military protection’ if their country becomes a part of the US. Trump’s taunt was a shocker to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he was in the midst of a crisis sparked by the sudden departure of a minister who was a bulwark against Trump’s plan to start trade wars with his neighbours. Trump’s comments could have been light-hearted but the Canadians must be losing sleep.

(The writer is former Senior Fellow at the PMML (Ministry of Culture), MP-IDSA (Ministry of Defence), and ICCR Chair Professor (Ministry of External Affairs) at Reitaku University, Japan)