 "US President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md.. AP")
US President Donald Trump has asked the military to draw plans to “reclaim” Panama Canal, according to a report.
Panama Canal is among the territories across continents that Trump has vowed to annex even with the use of military force. Other places that he has vowed to annex include the nation of Canada, the Greenland island of Denmark, and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip, one half of the envisioned Palestinian state.
NBC News has reported that the Trump administration has asked the US military to draw plans to “reclaim” Panama Canal and Southern Command has been tasked with this. The exact meaning of the world “reclaim” remains unclear.
Mostly recently, Trump repeated the vow to annex Panama Canal during the address to Congress. He said that “to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it”.
US military drawing range of options for Trump: Report
At the orders of Trump, the US military is drawing a range of plans regarding Panama Canal, according to NBC News.
These plans range from sober plans to enhancing military presence in Panama and partnering closely with the country’s forces to secure the canal to extreme plans of invading and seizing the canal, as per the report.
Officials told the outlet that whether force is used depends on how Panama cooperates with the Trump administration.
Officials told the outlet that following plans are being drawn:
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEnhancing presence to ensure US ships have safe passages through the Panama Canal
Using force to totally control and operate the Panama Canal
Using force to secure ports along the canal, build new ports, or use army engineers to operate canal’s locks
Positioning US forces near Panama so that they could respond in response to a regional war or threat to the United States
In the last option, the US forces would aim to to secure the canal and eliminate China’s access to Panama Canal, as per the report.