Written by Gram Slattery and Tim Reed

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s surprise threat to regain control of the Panama Canal and his expansive declaration that the United States should own Greenland suggest the next U.S. president will pursue a foreign policy that is not limited by diplomatic niceties.

As Trump prepares to take office on January 20, 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 resolve quickly.

But on Sunday, Trump was more focused on making threats against US allies like Panama and Denmark, which controls Greenland as an offshore territory. In previous weeks, it was Canada that had to overcome his trolling to become the 51st state in the United States.

Defenders of Trump’s approach say he is merely a staunch advocate of “America First” policies. This means cavalierly defending America’s interests – economic or otherwise – when dealing with friends and largely ignoring the consequences that allies might face.

“The idea is that what’s good for America is good for the rest of the world,” said Victoria Coats, a senior national security official during Trump’s 2017-2021 term. “So it takes a clear look at American interests in any given situation.”

In the case of Panama, Trump said the United States should reassert control over the vital Central American waterway because Panama imposes exorbitant fees on shipping companies to use it, a claim the Panamanian president has strongly 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 on the corridor.

Two of Trump’s foreign policy advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was addressing a larger issue, one they expect to be the focus of his second term: growing Chinese influence over governments and economies in Latin America.

China does not control or operate the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long operated two ports located on the canal’s approaches to the Caribbean and Pacific regions.

“It’s all about leverage and flexibility,” said Tricia McLaughlin, an adviser to Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s pick to head a government efficiency panel. “The second user of the Panama Canal is China, and it is trying to thwart its influence in Latin America.” With Tesla (NASDAQ:) CEO Elon Musk.

Critics point out that his approach risks alienating key allies.

In some cases, they say, public bullying can push normal friends into the orbit of rival major powers, such as China and Russia, or make them less likely to strike an economic or security deal with the United States.

Meyer Mizrahi Matalon, the conservative mayor of Panama City who wore a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat, issued a scathing statement on Sunday. “We are not and will not be the 51st state,” he said.

John Bolton, Trump’s first-term national security adviser who has since turned against the former president, said there are legitimate discussions about the bonuses Panama charges for passage through the canal, as well as Greenland’s strategic importance to the United States and NATO.

But he added that Trump was jeopardizing the opportunity to have those discussions “because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

Trump was not averse to berating or threatening allies during his first term, especially the European members of NATO, whom Trump accused of spending too little on the alliance’s military defense.

However, threatening geographically close allies like Canada and Panama weeks before he took office shows a greater willingness to use US power as a blunt instrument to extract concessions.

The White House declined to comment. Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump still wants Greenland

On Sunday, Trump also revived in a statement an idea he floated during his first term: that the United States should buy Greenland, which has become an increasingly important strategic region as Arctic trade routes open up due to climate change.

Three of these people told Reuters that some officials involved in the transition or close to Trump have informally discussed in recent weeks what a Danish land acquisition would look like.

One potential option is to sign with Greenland the Charter of Free Association, or COFA, if the island becomes fully independent from Denmark, which some opinion polls have shown Greenlanders would support in the long term.

Under the COFA agreement, which the United States currently has with three Pacific island nations, there is a very high degree of economic integration between the United States and the foreign nation in question, although the foreign nation remains independent.

Danish officials rebuffed Trump when he first expressed interest in acquiring the island during his 2017-2021 term, but he never lost interest in the idea, two transition aides and advisers said.

Experts say that Trump has considered in recent weeks turning Canada into a US state, an idea that has little basis in reality.

However, Elliot Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said there was strategic thinking behind Trump’s trolling.

Abrams noted that Justin Trudeau, Canada’s embattled prime minister, is unpopular at home and faces increasing calls to resign. Trump has pledged to impose tariffs on Canadian imports unless they reduce the flow of immigrants and drugs into the United States

“Trump is increasing the pressure on Trudeau, and I think that’s part of the tariff negotiations,” Abrams said. “I think you’ll see the same thing with Mexico at some point.”

McLaughlin, Ramaswamy’s adviser, agreed, saying: “It’s a message to Trudeau that you and Canada are the little brother, don’t bite the hand that feeds you until you pay your fair share of the tariffs.”