DONALD Trump has doubled down on his intention to acquire Greenland when he is president, and this map shows why he is so keen.
The incoming president has long argued the icy land should come under American control, and now analysis shows this might not be as mad as it sounds.
Trump has maintained his intention to buy Greenland, and even refused to rule out taking it by forceGetty
Alexey Maishev/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty ImagesChina’s Xi Jinping and Putin are both actively aiming to assert control in the Arctic – to which Greenland is key[/caption]
ReutersA view of the US’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland[/caption]
Far from being a useless block of ice, Greenland is a vital strategic asset bursting with natural resources and sits bang in the middle of the main Arctic trade routes.
Trump first expressed interest in Greenland, which is self-governing but owned by Denmark, during his first term when he saw it as a “large real estate deal”.
He even appointed a team to prepare options, including a long-term lease deal.
In the years since, Trump has continued looking into the matter and become only more resolved to see it through.
He even refused to rule out seizing the island by force, which has been roundly criticized by international leaders.
In a press conference earlier this week, Trump said America needed Greenland for “national security purposes” and “protecting the free world”.
And then Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, landed in Greenland and was seen strolling around the captial Nuuk.
On Truth Social, Trump Snr couldn’t resist hyping his son’s trip.
He wrote on Monday: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA’.
Strategic position
As the map shows, Greenland sits right in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and amongst the key trade arteries in the region.
The Arctic is increasingly the object of a struggle between international superpowers.
Russia and China have both ramped up efforts to take control of the region, and there are concerns that America has been caught off-guard.
“We’ve sort of been asleep at the switch,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Russia, which owns 40 per cent of the Arctic coastline, has been particularly proactive in cranking up military activity.
It is currently building the world’s largest fleet of nuclear icebreakers that will dominate the Arctic waters and open up new routes shipping in the winter.
China’s plan to take control of the Arctic is dubbed the “Polar Silk Road”, and was formally announced in 2018.
The project will open up trade and energy routes across Russia’s far north.
Even more concerning for the US is the fact that these two major players are collaborating in the region: during an October visit to China, Putin invited investment in the Northern Sea Route.
If Trump could get hold of Greenland, the US would be much better positioned in the power tussle playing out in the icy Arctic waters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia is closely monitoring the situation after Trump’s recent words, as the Arctic is in Russia’s “sphere of national and strategic interests”.
EMIL STACH/RITZAU SCANPIX/REUTERSDonald Trump Jr arrived in Greenland on Tuesday in his father’s plane for a visit he insisted was purely as a tourist[/caption]
ReutersA view of the US Pituffik Space Base on the north-west coast of Greenland[/caption]
Rich natural resources
Greenland is famed for its plentiful supply of fish, but this isn’t the only natural resource it boasts.
The island is also sitting on top of rich supplies of minerals and oil.
It is estimated there are billions of barrels worth of oil along the west coast and under the sea bed of the east coast.
New oil and gas exploration in Greenland was banned in 2021 on environmental grounds, so almost none of this supply is currently being tapped.
Trump has on multiple occasions repeated the slogan: “Drill, baby, drill”, so there’s no guessing what his approach would be to Greenland’s supplies.
Greenland has also banned mining near the southern town of Narsaq – home to one of the largest deposits of rare elements on earth, particularly uranium.
Americans have been panicked by Chinese companies already showing interest in mining Greenland’s stock of minerals.
GettyInuit houses scattered on the hill in Nuuk city, Greenland[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
