Palm Beach (US) President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared US control of both to be vital to American national security.

Speaking to reporters less than two weeks before he takes office on Jan 20 and as a delegation of aides and advisers that includes his son Donald Trump Jr is in Greenland, Trump left open the use of the American military to secure both territories.

“I’m not going to commit to that,” he said, when asked if he would rule out the use of the military. “It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country.” He added, “We need Greenland for national security purposes.” Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime US ally and a founding member of NATO.

Trump, a Republican, has floated having Canada join the United States. He said he would not use military force to do that, saying, he would rely on “economic force”.