‘Uneasy’ Europe cautions Trump against threatening sovereign borders

Donald Trump’s threatening comments over US military action against Greenland and the Panama Canal have sparked ‘notable incomprehension’ among EU leaders.

Left: Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, of the Panama Canal Authority, Right: Donald Trump.

European leaders on Wednesday warned Donald Trump against threatening “sovereign borders” after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take Greenland.

Germany’s Olaf Scholz said Mr Trump’s comments had sparked “notable incomprehension” among EU leaders with whom the chancellor had spoken.

Mr Trump has designs on the mineral- and oil-rich Arctic island, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark that itself has eyes on independence.

He set off new alarm bells on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) at a news conference when he refused to rule out military intervention over the Panama Canal and Greenland, both of which he has said he wanted the US to control. “We need Greenland for ­national security purposes,” he declared.

Mr Trump also labelled the US-Canada border an “artificially drawn line” and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.

In Berlin, Mr Scholz convened a press conference at short notice and stressed that the “inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law”.

In a later tweet in English, Mr Scholz reiterated Berlin’s position that “borders must not be moved by force” and that Mr Trump’s ­latest outburst had cause “un­easiness” within European governments.

Referring indirectly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said the principle of sovereign borders “applies to every country, whether in the East or the West”.

Donald Trump Jr made a ­whistle-stop visit to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Tuesday, insisting he was making a day-long trip only as a “tourist” and he was not there to “buy” the territory.

Meanwhile, Panama Canal Authority leader Ricuarte Vásquez Morales said granting Mr Trump’s demand for US ships passing through the Panama Canal to get preferential treatment would “lead to chaos”.

“Rules are rules and there are no exceptions,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

“We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else,” he said.

“This will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos.”

The US built, owned and operated the Central American canal until US president Jimmy Carter struck a deal in the 1970s to gradually hand control of the vital waterway over to Panamanian authorities.

One of Mr Trump’s fiercest criticisms of the Panama Canal is that it is effectively controlled by China – an accusation Mr Vásquez Morales said was “unfounded.”

“China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations,” he said. “Accusations China is running the canal are unfounded.”

Mr Trump on Tuesday said “China has basically taken it over. China’s at both ends of the Panama Canal. China’s running the Panama Canal.”

While a Chinese company operates two ports on either end of the canal, the canal itself is run by the Panama Canal Authority.

“The sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable,” said Javier ­Martinez-Acha, Panama’s foreign minister.

“It is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest.”

At his news conference, Mr Trump said Panama was seeking $US3bn to repair the canal and charging American shipping and US Navy vessels higher fees for passage.

Mr Vásquez Morales said Panama had not requested any US funds to improve the canal and he was not aware what $US3bn Mr Trump was referring to since the authority funds repairs through its own revenues.

The Panamanian executive, which has run the canal authority since 2019, also denied that the authority charged US vessels higher rates.

The only exception to its rules, Mr Vásquez Morales said, was that priority passage was given to US Navy vessels in ­accordance with the treaty.

Rates are set by the size and type of ship, though the canal also runs auctions for slots for time-sensitive cargo.

Tolls average about $US750,000 a crossing, though they can range between $US300,000 and $US1m.

“They apply to all ships from around the world and there are no exceptions,” Mr Vásquez Morales said.

AFP,
The Wall Street Journal