In less than 24 hours, donald trump will be the new president of the United States: the magnate returns to the White House four years after his departure, determined to advance his “America First” rhetoric and put American interests first in the world. Beyond his promises of a tariff war or his questioning of NATO, his territorial claims on Canadahe Panama Canal or Greenland have strained international relations in recent weeks.
The case of the Arctic island is special: the new president assured the media that for the United States it is “a matter of national security” to control Greenlandand did not rule out economic pressure or military action to achieve it. His nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hesgeth, did not rule it out in the Senate either.
Trump seems determined to make control of Greenland a foreign policy priority, but why will the United States focus on the island now?
The three keys that explain the US interest in Greenland
The keys that explain the interest of the United States (and also other powers such as Russia or China) in the Arctic are three
- Geostrategic situation: the Arctic Ocean and Greenland are located at the North Pole of the planet, an area where three oceans meet and with coasts of three continents. The US has the Pituffik air base in Greenland, but buying the island would mean having territory in the Arctic, as Russia already has. Furthermore, the US would have a vast territory in which to reinforce its global anti-missile radar system against possible attacks from other powers.
- New trade routes?: a hypothetical thaw at the North Pole and the Glacial Ocean, like the one scientists point out, will create new trade routes as they become navigable waters. Control of Greenland would allow the US to have new trade routes through the Northwest Passage and the Beaufort Sea, connecting the Atlantic, the Arctic and the Pacific with waters under US sovereignty, something that Trump considers key to competing with Russia and China. .
- The ‘hidden treasures’ under the Arctic ice: Oil, natural gas, uranium and minerals such as gold, copper, nickel or cobalt from the soil of Greenland have remained inaccessible due to ice and extreme weather, but that could change with global warming. Also the ‘rare earths’key materials in technology, and of which Greenland could host the second largest reserve in the world. For the US, controlling these reserves would be key to competing with China.
The US has already proposed the purchase of the island in the past
The purchase of Greenland is an old claim of Trump – he already proposed it in 2018 – but also of the US: on two other occasions, Washington raised the idea. In 1860, a State Department report already conveyed to the White House the potential benefits of purchasing Greenland; and In 1946, President Truman offered $100 million for the territory.an offer that Denmark rejected.
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