Washington DC. Canada first, then the Panma Canal. Currently, the newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, wants to take Greenland. This expression of his has once again created controversy at the international level
Two of his recent statements are related to Panama and Greenland. Earlier, he wished to regain possession of the Panama Canal, which was occupied by the United States. During this time, he also talked about taking over Greenland.
This is not the first time that Trump has shown such an interest in Greenland. Earlier in 2019, he had talked about buying Greenland. However, his statement was not given much importance at that time.
But now Trump is entering the White House again. In this regard, his latest expression has created waves at the diplomatic level. Many questions arise, especially regarding Greenland. Why is Trump showing so much interest in Greenland? How is any European country connected to the interests of the United States? Considering what threat related to China, Trump has talked about buying Greenland land again? Has the US done this before?
While announcing the appointment of a new ambassador for Denmark, Trump talked about buying Greenland. He said that capturing Greenland is very important to ensure national security. He said that the United States believes that it is necessary to take Greenland into its hands for the national security and freedom of the world.
Why is the US showing interest in Greenland?
Greenland is an autonomous part of Denmark. In other words, Denmark is ruling indirectly here. The Danish government handles Greenland’s domestic affairs. Along with home affairs, he also looks after education, health, natural resources and law enforcement. All administrative work is carried out in its capital, New York.
Denmark oversees Greenland’s foreign affairs, defense and financial policy. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is the formal head of state of Greenland. Its elected government is led by the Prime Minister, Mute Burup Ingede.
How is America’s diplomatic interest linked to Greenland?
What is surprising is that Greenland itself is not part of Europe. It is part of the North American continent. It is 5,000 km from the United States. In this context, Greenland’s diplomatic importance for the United States is increasing. Since it is connected to the Arctic Ocean through the Greenland Sea, the entire region has become diplomatically important. Greenland, which is spread over an area of 2.1 million square kilometers, is about a quarter of the entire United States and is full of many possibilities for living.
How important is Greenland in the competition with China?
It is said that 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its gas reserves are in the Arctic. Greenland also has large reserves of coal, iron, copper and zinc. In the period before 2010, when the electrical revolution was spreading around the world, American companies increased their dependence on China for rare earth minerals. Due to this, China began to search for rare earth minerals used in mobile phones, computers and electric cars in large parts of Africa and established its influence throughout the region.
Due to China’s growing monopoly on rare earth minerals and the aggressive policies of its President Xi Jinping, the US is now looking for places where it can control such rare earth minerals. This is where the talk of Greenland started.
Greenland also has the world’s largest reserves of some rare earth minerals. Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium are some of these. There are also large amounts of uranium and its by-products. These essential minerals are very important for the production of electronics, gadgets and electric vehicles (EVs).
In 2019, Trump had his eye on a company called Greenland Minerals. Originally from Australia. The company began work at the Quanefeld mine on the peninsula in 2007. It is said to have reserves of several rare earth metals. It is estimated that there are 100 million tons of rare earth minerals in this area alone. In the coming days, this project is expected to be the largest in terms of rare earth minerals outside of China.
Has there been an attempt to annex Greenland to the US before?
This is not the first time that a US president or president-elect has shown interest in Greenland. Bringing Greenland under its jurisdiction has been a 157-year-old dream of the US. In 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward, under then US President Thomas Jefferson, had floated the idea of purchasing Greenland and Iceland. By 1868, an agreement had been reached between the US and Denmark to purchase Greenland and Iceland for $5.5 million in
It was. However, that proposal did not move forward.
Not only this, America tried to buy Greenland in 1910 and 1946. In 1946, the government of American President Harry Tuan proposed to buy Denmark for 100 million dollars (one billion dollars in today’s time) in gold. Then there was also talk about plans to make Greenland a military base. However, after several years of negotiations, America has not been able to purchase Greenland.