President Donald Trump has insisted that the US should ‘get’ Greenland, somehow ‘. But it is not the first time that American leaders have focused on the icy, vast island.
Located in the middle of disputed waters between the US, Russia and West -Europe, Greenland is located At a point that could protect the North Atlantic Passage against Russian ships and submarines. It was an important military vantage point during the Cold War and President Harry Truman offered to buy Greenland from the Danes in 1946.
The island is also a transfer point for communication cables that cross the Atlantic Ocean. European officials claim that Russian “ghost ships” have destroyed such cables by dropping their anchors and dragging them over the ocean floor.
More control over the island would not only offer the US Shipping route To Europe, but also the possibility to strengthen its ballistic rocket early warning system and place Radar on the ocean floor to follow the movements of Russian and Chinese ships.
From the left: former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat; Second Lady Usha Vance; National Security Advisor Mike Waltz; Vice president JD Vance; Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah; And Energy Minister Chris Wright posing while visiting the Pituffik Space Base of the US Army in Greenland on Friday. (Jim Watson/Pool via Reuters)
The island resides on top of lucrative stocks of critical and rare earth minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, uranium and iron – materials that are essential for electric vehicles, medical equipment, electronics, batteries and advanced defense systems.
The US was once a top producer of rare earth minerals, but was abolished by China. China is currently dominating the global supply chain with access to 60% of the world’s range, but Greenland can be a “game change”, according to national security lawyer Irina Tsukerman.
“Their total resources of these rare earths can be larger than what China has,” she said Fox News Digital.
Vice -president JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and energy secretary Chris Wright, together with Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, visited Greenland on Friday.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” the vice president remarked during the trip.
“You have invested in the people of Greenland at the bottom, and under the security architecture of this incredible, all-that-feature land mass you have to change with incredible people. That has to change and because it has not changed, this is the reason why President Trump’s policy is what it is.”
Trump says ‘We need Greenland for international security and security’ prior to Vance Trip
Infographic with map with Greenland, the US and Denmark. (Guillermo Rivas Pachecovalentina Breschiclaar Morineau/AFP via Getty images)
Greenland is an estimated world’s eighth largest reserve of rare earths, has Just behind the US But the minerals have proved difficult to access – 80% of the island’s surface is covered with thick sheets of ice. The island also has a lot of bureaucracy: strict requirements of the environment and social impact means that the permit process takes time.
The country’s economy is currently built on fishing and well -being: Denmark offers around $ 700 million every year, almost half of the budget of Greenland.
The US has put “billions” in investments to minerals in Greenland as part of an attempt to reduce its dependence on China, although China has already had a limited involvement in mining projects.
“China is more concerned about access to the North Pole area than those minerals,” said Tsukerman.
About 80% of Greenland is covered with ice, making its rare earths difficult to access. (Reuters/Leonhard Foeger/File photo)
“China has its mineral efforts aimed at Africa, where it is indeed far before the US Russia has been Focused on the Arctic, “she continued.” There have been growing conversations about increasing NATO consence in the area to deter Russian and Chinese ships. “
There is also oil and gas, but in 2021, Greenland has passed on a ban on all future oil and gas exploration and extraction.
While the ice sheets continue to melt, the waters around Greenland are becoming more and more navigable – which means that ships traveling from Asia and Europe can sail polar routes and avoid going to the south to the Panama and Suez channels.
The US and Danish defenses on the island have become outdated, just like Russia refurbishes its own Arctic ports. Greenland once organized dozens of American bases and outdoor posts, but today only one of them is housed: Pituffik Space Force Base. Once the home base of around 10,000 American troops, around 200 are now being used there.
“We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We need it,” Trump said in an interview on Wednesday.
The territory largely opposes the idea of ​​joining the US
In response to Trump’s threats to take Greenland, Denmark announced an investment of $ 2 billion in Defense on the island in January.
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The Defense Infloor Service of Denmark has determined Greenland as “a priority for Russia, and it will demonstrate its power through aggressive and threatening behavior, which will lead a greater risk of escalation than ever before in the Arctic.”
“We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years,” the Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen recently admitted. “Now we are planning a stronger presence.”
