Greenland — two and one-half the size of Texas — is strategic in terms of its location and its natural resources. It is coveted by China and Russia, and Trump is wise to recognize the geopolitical implications of allowing the giant island to fall into unfriendly hands.
A self-governing territory of Denmark, Greenland (population: 57,000) is pursuing complete independence. The island cannot really stand on its own. It has been kept afloat by $600 million in annual Danish subsidies, a revenue stream that will disappear once ties are cut with Copenhagen. This is where Trump enters the picture.
In his wide-ranging Jan. 7 news conference, Trump said was an “absolute necessity” for the United States to take ownership of the island, even threatening Denmark with tariffs and hinting at military intervention if a deal cannot be reached. Denmark refuses to sell, and Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, says, “We do not want to become American.”
However, U.S. investments in Greenland’s mining industry and closer bilateral security ties would be welcome, Egede emphasized.
The stakes are high. Greenland’s subsoil contains a variety of valuable minerals, rare earth metals, precious metals, and precious stones, including gold, silver, copper, lead, graphite, zinc, olivine, cryolite, and marble, according to Greenland’s Department of Environment and Mineral Resources. The island also abounds in lithium, cobalt and uranium, which, along with its rare earth elements, have a wide range of commercial and military applications. The surrounding North Atlantic waters also have the potential for oil and natural gas development.
This treasure trove of natural resources between the Arctic and the Atlantic oceans now finds itself near center stage in the mounting geostrategic rivalry involving the United States, Russia and China. A change in Greenland’s status — from a Danish territory to some form of closer affiliation with the United States — will profoundly shake things up inside the Arctic Circle. With 15,000 miles of Arctic shoreline, Russia enjoys a formidable presence at the top of the world.
Commenting on Trump’s plans for Greenland, Vladimir Barbin, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, said that “attempts to ensure U.S. national security at the expense of other nations may result in further deterioration of the situation in the Arctic, which Russia will take into account in its military planning.”
China, which now calls itself “a near-Arctic” state, threatens to challenge Russia’s maritime regional dominance while simultaneously undermining the American position in the Arctic. As a first, three Chinese icebreakers entered the Arctic via the Bering Straight last summer.
Beijing, the new kid on the Arctic block, has met with a cool reception. Its Polar Silk Road initiative launched in 2018 to enhance China’s presence in the region has fallen flat, with ambitious infrastructure and research projects in Finland scrapped by Helsinki after Beijing refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Greenland has also rebuffed Chinese efforts to establish a mining presence on the island. China already dominates the mining, refining and processing of global metals. Penetrating Greenland’s riches would only strengthen its position to the detriment of Greenland’s only serious protector, the United States.
The rapidly shifting crosscurrents of 21st-century geopolitics support Trump’s interest in Greenland.
“If you want to be a powerful space-faring nation and be able to project space power in terms of offensive and defensive space weapons systems and other sorts of (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), you have to have infrastructure in the Arctic Circle — not to mention the Antarctic Circle — to seamlessly communicate and control all of your satellites,” Jahara Matisek, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, recently told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
As for projecting space power from the Arctic, Thule Air Base in northern Greenland (opened by the United States in 1952) was renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023 and is now part of the U.S. Space Force. To the remote installation’s southeast lies the strategically important Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, which provides access by sea to the Arctic. Monitoring the GIUK gap, safeguarding Greenland’s natural resources, and protecting U.S. military/space installations in Greenland is something that only an enhanced U.S. presence on the island can guarantee.
Interest in Greenland is nothing new. Secretary of State William Seward wanted to buy it from Denmark in 1867 (he had to settle for purchasing Alaska from czarist Russia); President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million ($1.6 billion in today’s money) in 1946. Trump raised the idea in his first term.
Today, the only question is what form the acquisition should take. Statehood is problematic given Greenland’s tiny population. More appealing to Trump and the Greenlanders may be the “Freely Associated State” status as has been granted to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palus in the Pacific Ocean, where the United States has a military presence in exchange for financial assistance. Another option is for Greenland to become a U.S. territory like Guam.
Trump is the author of “The Art of the Deal.” Negotiations are not far off.
Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, where he concentrates on energy, natural resources, and international relations. This article was sourced HERE
In his wide-ranging Jan. 7 news conference, Trump said was an “absolute necessity” for the United States to take ownership of the island, even threatening Denmark with tariffs and hinting at military intervention if a deal cannot be reached. Denmark refuses to sell, and Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, says, “We do not want to become American.”
However, U.S. investments in Greenland’s mining industry and closer bilateral security ties would be welcome, Egede emphasized.
The stakes are high. Greenland’s subsoil contains a variety of valuable minerals, rare earth metals, precious metals, and precious stones, including gold, silver, copper, lead, graphite, zinc, olivine, cryolite, and marble, according to Greenland’s Department of Environment and Mineral Resources. The island also abounds in lithium, cobalt and uranium, which, along with its rare earth elements, have a wide range of commercial and military applications. The surrounding North Atlantic waters also have the potential for oil and natural gas development.
This treasure trove of natural resources between the Arctic and the Atlantic oceans now finds itself near center stage in the mounting geostrategic rivalry involving the United States, Russia and China. A change in Greenland’s status — from a Danish territory to some form of closer affiliation with the United States — will profoundly shake things up inside the Arctic Circle. With 15,000 miles of Arctic shoreline, Russia enjoys a formidable presence at the top of the world.
Commenting on Trump’s plans for Greenland, Vladimir Barbin, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, said that “attempts to ensure U.S. national security at the expense of other nations may result in further deterioration of the situation in the Arctic, which Russia will take into account in its military planning.”
China, which now calls itself “a near-Arctic” state, threatens to challenge Russia’s maritime regional dominance while simultaneously undermining the American position in the Arctic. As a first, three Chinese icebreakers entered the Arctic via the Bering Straight last summer.
Beijing, the new kid on the Arctic block, has met with a cool reception. Its Polar Silk Road initiative launched in 2018 to enhance China’s presence in the region has fallen flat, with ambitious infrastructure and research projects in Finland scrapped by Helsinki after Beijing refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Greenland has also rebuffed Chinese efforts to establish a mining presence on the island. China already dominates the mining, refining and processing of global metals. Penetrating Greenland’s riches would only strengthen its position to the detriment of Greenland’s only serious protector, the United States.
The rapidly shifting crosscurrents of 21st-century geopolitics support Trump’s interest in Greenland.
“If you want to be a powerful space-faring nation and be able to project space power in terms of offensive and defensive space weapons systems and other sorts of (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), you have to have infrastructure in the Arctic Circle — not to mention the Antarctic Circle — to seamlessly communicate and control all of your satellites,” Jahara Matisek, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, recently told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
As for projecting space power from the Arctic, Thule Air Base in northern Greenland (opened by the United States in 1952) was renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023 and is now part of the U.S. Space Force. To the remote installation’s southeast lies the strategically important Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, which provides access by sea to the Arctic. Monitoring the GIUK gap, safeguarding Greenland’s natural resources, and protecting U.S. military/space installations in Greenland is something that only an enhanced U.S. presence on the island can guarantee.
Interest in Greenland is nothing new. Secretary of State William Seward wanted to buy it from Denmark in 1867 (he had to settle for purchasing Alaska from czarist Russia); President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million ($1.6 billion in today’s money) in 1946. Trump raised the idea in his first term.
Today, the only question is what form the acquisition should take. Statehood is problematic given Greenland’s tiny population. More appealing to Trump and the Greenlanders may be the “Freely Associated State” status as has been granted to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palus in the Pacific Ocean, where the United States has a military presence in exchange for financial assistance. Another option is for Greenland to become a U.S. territory like Guam.
Trump is the author of “The Art of the Deal.” Negotiations are not far off.
Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, where he concentrates on energy, natural resources, and international relations. This article was sourced HERE
2 comments:
Like Trump or not, he has already targeted big current and potential problems for the US. Full marks for patriotic leadership.
… and recent polls have shown that Americans like Trump and what he is doing.
“Trump hits highest approval mark of either term as new poll finds America loves his policies, The Independent, Josh Marcus, 10 February 2025.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-approval-rating-poll-doge-b2695056.html
“Americans reveal if they think Trump is keeping his campaign promises,” Daily Mail, Katelyn Caralle, 10 February 2025
“Seven in 10 Americans believe that President Donald Trump is doing exactly what he said he would once back in the White House ...”
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