Washington, Jan 08, (V7N) ― President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday avoided ruling out the use of U.S. military force to achieve his goal of acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal, emphasizing the importance of both locations for national security and economic interests.

When asked at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida whether he could assure the public that military or economic coercion would not be used, Trump responded, "No, I can't assure you of either of those two. But I can say this: We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military."

Trump has openly stated his interest in acquiring Greenland, a mineral-rich territory controlled by Denmark, and the Panama Canal, which has been under Panama’s control since 1999. He has also discussed the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.

"I'm not going to commit to that," Trump said when asked if military force might be used to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland. "It might be that you'll have to do something."

However, Trump clarified that he is not considering military action to annex Canada, but rather hopes to achieve the acquisition through "economic force."

"Canada and the United States — that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security," he said.

Trump criticized the Panama Canal deal from the Carter era, calling it a "disgrace" and accusing the Panama Canal Authority of charging higher fees for U.S. ships compared to those from other countries. He also claimed China has significant influence over the canal.

"They charge more for our Navy than they charge for navies of other countries," Trump said. "They laugh at us because they think we're stupid, but we're not stupid anymore. So the Panama Canal is under discussion with them right now. They violated every aspect of the agreement, and it’s been morally violated also."

Trump argued that Greenland is strategically important for U.S. national security, questioning Denmark's legal right to control the territory. He predicted that the people of Greenland may vote to join the U.S., and threatened high tariffs on Denmark if they do not relinquish Greenland.

"The U.S. has got to draw plans for acquisition," Trump said, adding that his team is "not at that stage" yet.

Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, for a private visit on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said that he would not meet with government officials but was instead in Greenland for a "quick day-long trip" to film content for his podcast.

"No, I am not buying Greenland," Trump Jr. said on his podcast Monday. "Funny enough, I’m actually going on a very long personal day trip to Greenland."

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