Rubio says Trump's Greenland bid 'not a joke,' citing China risk

Iain Marlow, Bloomberg News on Jan 30, 2025

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WASHINGTON — The top U.S. diplomat said President Donald Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland “is not a joke” because of the risk that China would station resources on the island that threaten American security and the importance of Arctic shipping lanes for energy exports.

“Those conversations are going to happen, but this is not a joke,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about discussions between Trump and Danish authorities over potentially buying the island. He spoke in an interview on SiriusXM’s "The Megyn Kelly Show" posted online Thursday. Rubio also reiterated the Trump administration’s interest in the Panama Canal.

Rubio, who has previously defended Trump’s interest in Greenland, said Beijing may deploy Chinese companies to establish operations on the island that might one day be used by its military, adding that this was also a concern in Panama.

“It is completely realistic to believe that the Chinese will eventually, maybe even in the short term, try to do in Greenland what they have done at the Panama Canal and in other places,” said Rubio, a longtime China hawk. “And that is install facilities that give them access to the Arctic with the cover of a Chinese company, but that in reality serve a dual purpose — that in a moment of conflict they could send naval vessels to that facility and operate from there.”

Rubio said Arctic shipping routes were going to be crucial for the Trump administration’s plan to export more American energy. Greenland’s potential as a source of critical minerals also has been cited within Trump’s camp as a reason for its strategic value.

A spokesman for China’s Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, told Bloomberg in a statement that Rubio’s accusations about a possible dual-use facility on Greenland “are totally groundless and unfounded.” He added that Beijing “does not take part in managing or operating” the Panama Canal and respects the country’s sovereignty.

This week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sought to drum up support from European allies to stand up to Trump’s efforts to appropriate Greenland.

While Rubio was seen as the most conventional of Trump’s Cabinet picks, he has fully backed Trump’s foreign policy ideas, including a disruptive foreign aid freeze that has alarmed global aid organizations including the World Health Organization.

Trump has also called for the U.S. to retake control of the Panama Canal unless the cost of passage for naval and merchant ships is slashed. He has falsely accused China of operating the waterway, exaggerating the significance of two ports on either side of the canal operated by a Hong Kong-based firm.

On Wednesday evening, Trump’s Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, said the U.S. had the right to “do what is necessary” to ensure access to the Panama Canal.