Why does Donald Trump want Greenland? From shipping routes to minerals
Donald Trump has never been shy about his desire to claim Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, as his own.
But in the years since the president first offered to buy the island nation in 2019, his campaign has escalated dramatically in recent months.
So why is Trump so determined to have Greenland?
What does Trump want with Greenland?
Greenland sits in the Arctic Circle, where world powers, including China and Russia, have been jostling for military control.
And for good reason: Controlling Greenland would give a nation an outpost in a vital naval corridor connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic.
As climate change melts the icecaps, the once nearly impossible-to-navigate ocean is becoming more spacious, opening up new shipping routes.
Trump has been eyeing up the island since 2019, but he’s not the first president to want it.
The US tried to buy it in 1846 and again in 1946 – for the equivalent of £970million– amid the Cold War.
Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the US built the military base Thule Air Base in a remote corner of Greenland.
Now known as Pituffik Space Base (pronounced bee-doo-feek), the post is home to 150 personnel, who keep an eye out for ballistic missile attacks.
What minerals does Greenland have?
Scores of rare resources are locked inside Greenland, with 31 out of 34 materials that Europe sees as ‘critical’ being found there.
On top of cobalt, nickel, copper and titanium-vanadium, the island is also rich in gold, platinum and diamonds.
Many metals are used to make batteries, electric vehicles and other high-tech items. It may also have pools of oil and gas.
Professor Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a political science expert at the University of Copenhagen, told Metro that tapping these resources is easier said than done.
Winters are months-long and the island has fewer than 100 miles of road, which makes building things like mines or harbours tricky.
‘Greenland’s potential is endless. What if the Chinese controlled all of this?’ Prof Rasmussen said.
‘In that case, they would perhaps control 80% of the world’s iron production.’
What is happening with Greenland?
At the moment? A lot.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened to slap European countries with punishing tariffs of up to 25% if he isn’t allowed to seize the island.
Not only would this include Denmark, but fellow Nato members who have expressed solidarity with Greenland: the UK, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.
European leaders reacted on Saturday with unified outrage, warning that it could spell the end of Nato and US-EU trade agreements.
Greenlanders and Danes, meanwhile, took to the streets of their capital cities in their thousands to tell America to ‘go away again’.
Sir Keir Starmer criticised Trump’s pressure campaign in a news conference this morning, calling instead for ‘calm discussions’.
He added: ‘A tariff war is in nobody’s interest. We have not got to that stage, my focus is making sure we don’t get to that stage.’
Will Trump invade Greenland?
Invading Greenland wouldn’t be all that hard for the US, according to Prof Rasmussen.
After all, the US has among the most powerful militaries in the world, especially compared with Denmark.
Greenland’s people would also be easy to control, he said, given how concentrated they live.
‘If it came to it, Denmark would be able to hold Nuuk and the surrounding areas for a bit,’ Prof Rasmussen said of Greenland’s capital city.
(Picture: REUTERS)
‘But in the long run, it would be obvious the US would have the upper hand.’
Trump said earlier this month that using military force to nab the gigantic icebound island is something he is weighing up.
Starmer, however, doubts Washington would ever resort to this, saying ‘calm discussions’ are the obvious answer.
Nevertheless, Prof Rasmussen said: The US has clearly demonstrated they are not afraid of violating international law and they are not afraid of using military force to get their way.
‘That [threat] would be on the negotiating table. It’s like sitting down and placing a gun on the table before they start talking.’
Like other experts Metro has spoken with, Prof Rasmussen says it’s unlikely that we’ll see the US launch attacks against Nato allies.
The trans-Atlantic security alliance would unlikely survive US attacks, so European leaders might instead pressure Denmark to give in.
So far, however, European countries have backed their neighbour.
Nick Melvin, the director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told Metro: ‘There can now be little doubt the Trump team is planning to incorporate Greenland within the US.
‘There can now be little doubt the Trump team is planning to incorporate Greenland within the United States, and this is seen by Trump himself as one of the key legacies of his presidency.’
Who owns Greenland?
Greenland has been owned by Denmark since 1953, but it operates as an independent territory. Denmark cannot sell the region, for example.
The island’s 56,000 residents have the right to hold a referendum on independence.
But Greenlanders don’t want their home to be bought by anyone – especially not the US.
That’s now the majority of Greenlanders, Danes and even Americans feel, according to polls.
Patrick Abrahamsen, 46, told Metro that Greenland’s fate is on everyone’s lips – including the threat of a US invasion.
‘‘There is nothing we can do,’ he said. ‘We talk about this a lot. No military alliance can stand up against the US.
‘So we can just sit back and relax and hope for the best.’
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