The problem of China in the Panama Canal and possible purchase of Greenland: The best of Marco Rubio's first interview as secretary of state
The Republican spoke for more than an hour with journalist Megyn Kelly. He confirmed that his geopolitical priority is "to promote the national interest of the United States of America."
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Rubio was the first Trump cabinet member to be confirmed/ Jim Watson
Marco Rubio gave his first interview as secretary of state. The former senator spoke for more than an hour with journalist Megyn Kelly, who asked him about the Trump administration's foreign policy priorities, the danger of China, the possible purchase of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Rubio, who is in charge of carrying forward the president's geopolitical agenda, was the first cabinet member to be confirmed by the Senate. Since then, he has repeatedly assured that every dollar the Department of State spends under his stewardship should be justified as follows: "Does the action make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous?"
In his first interview in his new role, the secretary described the geopolitical chessboard as "multipolar," with "multiple countries that have the ability to end life on Earth." With that in mind, he analyzed the role of the United States under Trump's leadership.
"Promoting the national interest of the United States of America"
Asserting that it seems obvious, Rubio said the United States has forgotten that borders should be to "promote the national interest of the United States of America." He noted that this problem goes back to the end of the Cold War, a product of the fact that a world with a single superpower was not common or natural.
Already in the present day, he pointed out that "the job of diplomacy is to avoid conflict and, at the same time, promote our national interests and understand that they are going to promote theirs."
"It sounds like perbly but that's how you have multiple countries now who have the capability to end life on Earth and so so we need to really work hard to avoid armed conflict as much as possible but never at the expense of our national interests. So, that's the tricky balance," he continued.
Rubio asserted that the United States' strategic partners first want clarity in foreign policy. "They want clarity in our foreign policy band then they want want us to take action to be reliable and I know of no president certainly in modern American history who's more clear than Donald Trump and I know of no one who's more action oriented than president Trump," he added.
">Fascinating morning with @SecRubio in his first long-form sit down since becoming Sec of State. Covered it ALL - Colombia, Panama, Greenland, the Deep State, China, Trump. Thank you Mr. Secretary. pic.twitter.com/gAnQ9yKe9j
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 30, 2025
"I would argue that the canal is already in the arms of the Chinese"
Kelly, host of the "Megyn Kelly Show," later asked him about choosing Panama as his first overseas trip. Indeed, the last time a secretary of state traveled to Central America as a first destination was in 1912. Rubio responded that it was all related to the President's desire to regain control of the Panama Canal.
The secretary assured that China currently has investments that could compromise the United States' national security, so Panama would not be complying with the treaty signed in 1977 by the Carter administration.
"One of the main Investments they have is in these two Port facilities on both on the entry on both sides of the canal. Some people will argue 'well, that's not China, that's a company based in Hong Kong'. Well, a company based in Hong Kong is the government of China you are not a company in China if the Chinese government doesn't control you," Rubio explained.
The United States and the Panama Canal
Under Jimmy Carter's presidency, the United States signed a treaty with Panama to transfer control of the canal to the Central American country. The Torrijos-Carter treaty guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after Dec. 31, 1999.
"They have to do whatever the government tells them and if the government of China in a conflict tells them shut down the Panama Canal they will have to and in fact I have zero doubt that they have contingency planning to do so that is a direct threat," he continued.
As for Trump's objectives, Rubio clarified that "the president is very clear that he wants to go back to managing the canal," given that "we cannot allow any foreign power, particularly China, to have that kind of potential control over that."
The acquisition of Greenland "is not a joke"
Rubio also referred to another of the president's foreign policy priorities: buying Greenland. While the United States has tried to take over the world's largest island in the past, Trump intends to make this time the definitive one.
The secretary of state explained the need to position itself in the Arctic in the face of a likely Chinese advance, given that Denmark does not have the capacity to counter it.
Kelly then asked him whether, by 2029, the U.S. map would include Greenland, to which Rubio responded as follows, "I think that what I can tell you without getting into specifics because I don't you know I'm not we're not in a position yet to discuss exactly how we'll proceed tactically, what I think you can rest assured of is that four years from now our interest in the Arctic will be more secure."
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