Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's offer to “buy” Greenland is “not a joke”, adding that acquiring the semi-autonomous Danish territory was in the US “national interest”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity in the Arctic and in Latin America.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat.