Trump's threats: A preview of combative foreign policy

President-elect says US should reassert control of Panama Canal, buy Greenland

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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida Donald Trump's surprise threat to retake control of the Panama Canal and his expansionist declaration that the United States should own Greenland signals that the incoming US president will pursue a foreign policy unbound by diplomatic niceties.

As Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20, his aides have been preparing him to deal with two foreign policy crises: the war in Ukraine and multiple conflicts in the Middle East, both of which the President-elect has promised to speedily resolve.

But on Dec. 22, Trump was more focused on making threats against Washington's allies like Panama and Denmark, which controls Greenland as an overseas territory. In previous weeks, it had been Canada which had had to weather his trolling that it should become the 51st state of the US.

Defenders of Trump's approach say he is merely a forceful advocate of "America First" policies.

That means brusquely defending America's interests - economic or otherwise - when dealing with friends and largely disregarding consequences allies may face.

"The idea is that what's good for America is good for the rest of the world," said Ms. Victoria Coates, a high-ranking national security official during Trump's 2017-2021 term. "So he takes a clear-eyed look at what are America's interests in any given situation."

In the case of Panama, Trump said the US should reassert control of the vital Central American waterway because Panama was charging shippers too much to use it, an allegation the Panamanian President has vehemently denied.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona, Trump also said he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," warning of potential Chinese influence over the passage.