Trump signals an ambitious foreign policy in inauguration speech

The new president of the United States believes in fairness, and says the running of the Panama Canal has been very unfair.

Even though President Trump’s thunderous “Golden Age” inauguration speech was short on foreign policy objectives, he still managed to slip in his ambitions for the canal. He wants it back in American control, partly because US cargo ships, he complains, are paying over the odds for using it. He is also worried about Chinese encroachment at each end.

Inauguration addresses are not generally seen as an opportunity to lay out a blueprint for overcoming America’s enemies or to hint at potential territorial ambitions beyond America’s shores.

President Joe Biden in his inauguration address in January 2021 promised to defend America but the thrust of his remarks were about the need to protect democracy and to nurture the soul of America and the American people.

President Barack Obama in his first inauguration address spoke of change and hope and the duty to continue what the pioneers of the nation had begun. President George W. Bush focused on the yearning for freedom and democracy around the world.

Trump, however, signaled an ambitious foreign policy for the next four years. He did so subtly and indirectly when referring obliquely to conflicts in the world, but was bolder when it came to the Panama Canal. It’s clearly high on his list of priorities.

He said the Panama Canal which had been built at unprecedented cost by America with the loss of 38,000 lives, had “foolishly been given to the country of Panama.”

The waterway which links the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean was handed over to the government of Panama by the late President Jimmy Carter in 1979, although the US enjoyed joint-partnership control until 1999.

China has no hand in controlling the Panama Canal, but a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company operates two ports, Balboa and Cristobal, at each end of the waterway; and there are numerous other Chinese investment projects along the canal.

“We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should never have been made. And Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated,” Trump said.

“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form. And that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama,” Trump said.

The US is the prime user of the canal. Sixty-six percent of the cargo traffic transiting the canal began or ended its journey at a US port, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Depending on their size, type and cargo volume, US commercial ships face a toll of between $300,000 and $1 million.

Panama has declared the canal will remain in Panamanian hands and has rejected Trump’s threats. But the 47^th President’s message to Panama couldn’t have been clearer.

“We’re taking it back,” he said.

Trump didn’t mention Russia or China, Iran or North Korea and the challenges they pose to the US. This was no “axis of evil” speech, like the one delivered by George W. Bush in his famous State of the Union address to Congress on January 29, 2002, referencing North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

However, looking generally into the future, Trump promised: “Like in 2017 [his first term as president], we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

Trump never liked Biden’s corralling of allies to join a US-led coalition which spend billions of dollars in weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion. He has pledged to bring the war to an end to stop the tide of death and destruction.

“My proudest legacy,” said Trump, “will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”

He couldn’t resist reminding people indirectly of the role he and Steven Witkoff, his special envoy, played in finally brokering the ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza which was activated the day before he became president.

His closest reference to China was his warning that he would begin the overhaul of America’s trade system “to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”

There was no mention of the people of Greenland. But, judging by Trump’s constant reference to his desire to acquire Denmark’s autonomous, mineral-rich island, for the benefit of US national security interests, their time will come.