Greenland is, once again, plastered all over the front pages of world media following Trump repeating his desire to purchase the island, and if it seemed to many like a joke the first time, this time around – judging by Trump’s rhetoric and the reactions to it – many are considering the possibility of such a turn of events.
US interest in Greenland: why?
It is also well-known that the ice in Greenland, an island currently known for being covered with snow and ice, is melting at rapid rates, which uncovers its rich variety of hidden natural resources. The subsoil in Greenland contains rare earth and precious metals, precious stones, coal, graphite and uranium. On top of coal, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, graphite, olivine, cryolite and marble have or are also being mined. Unsurprisingly, there is also massive potential for oil exploitation off the coast of the island.
Since 2013, the Inatsisartut (Parliament of Greenland) allowed for mining companies to submit applications for gaining the right to mine the island’s subsoil for radioactive minerals. The United States has a huge and well-developed mining industry and could easily dive into Greenland’s precious resources.
In terms of military, it is also no secret that the United States has a base on the upper western coast of the island (Pituffik Space Base, better known as Thule Air Base). It was built in 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, and is not only located in the Arctic (approximately equidistant from the Arctic Circle and the North Pole), but is also the northern-most US base in the entire world. Mission Delta 2 (MD2) and Mission Delta 4 (MD4), part of the US Space Force, are closely linked to Greenland: many space surveillance and control sensors of the MD2, as well as missile warning sensors of the MD4, are located on the island. These systems are used by the US, Canada (within the framework of the North American Aerospace Defence Command) and other partners.
The base also houses the 821st Space Base Group, 12th Space Warning Squadron (operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System for detecting ICBMs launched in the direction of North America) and Detachment 1 of the 23rd Space Operations Squadron.
A preposterous invasion of sovereignty or a logical historical culmination?
The first time Trump floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019, it stirred outrage and ridicule on both the state level and among people all over the world (some may recall how many memes about the situation were circulated on social media). Now, though, the reaction is different. It is as if Trump broke the idea to the public in 2019 to prepare them for the future. Commenting on the situation to DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation, one of the main broadcasting and radio companies in Denmark), 28-year-old Christian Ulloriaq Jeppesen, who was born and raised in Nuuk, the island’s capital city, said: “at that time many of us laughed at it [Trump’s proposal]. “That crazy guy from the USA is saying some things about Greenland. Haha, how funny”. But suddenly, there was a plane in Nuuk with ‘Trump’ sprawled across its side and Trump Jr was handing out MAGA hats to people.
At first glance, one state declaring its intention to take control of another state’s territory without ruling out the use of economic blackmail and military force (by the way, here Trump was not only talking about Greenland, but also about the Panama Canal) seems like a preposterous invasion of sovereignty – because it is. The UN Charter, which talks about the sovereign equality of states and territorial integrity and much else, is softly crying in the corner. There is, of course, a negative reaction from the Danish government and Greenland, but it is very reserved. Many Danish publications have noted this fact, calling the current reaction more ‘diplomatic’.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump’s desires absurd, saying that the fate of Greenland should be decided by Greenlanders, noting that the Inatsisartut made it clear that the island is not for sale. At the same time, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for Danish-US cooperation and fully embraced plans to deepen cooperation in many spheres. She explained that full cooperation with the United States is necessary to counter Russia’s evil plans. One cannot but smile and draw historical (and even recent) parallels. Doing the US’ bidding, biting one’s tongue and gracefully accepting embarrassment is, for example, preferred by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz instead of even considering the possibility of bettering relations with Russia. Let us just remember the situation with the Nord Stream. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, commenting this situation on January 14 at a conference summarising Russia in the arena of foreign policy in the past year, “Scholz would not have dared to make a peep when the Nord Streams were exploded”.
Nobody cares about the opinion of Greenlanders
Many Greenlanders have for years felt like the Danish government, as well as many Danes, see them as inferior. There are many negative stereotypes surrounding them in the Danish society, for example that they are all alcoholics. This discrimination is even acknowledged by the Danish Institute of Human Rights, which published a report recognising that Greenlanders face the same hardships and stigma as non-Western immigrants in Denmark.
Against this background, there have been a long-standing debate among Greenlanders as to independence from Denmark; some are for, others against. Currently, four parties in Greenland’s parliament stand for independence, but there are, as of yet, no concrete proposals or consensus on hosting a referendum. Now, though, with Trump having announced his ideas vis-à-vis Greenland anew, there are three possibilities on the table: remaining in the Danish Commonwealth, gaining full independence or becoming an overseas territory of the United States (or, as some say, the 51st state – though Canada is also a candidate for this – or a US protectorate in some form or another).
The Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute B. Egede, called Trump’s plans “worrying” and said that military conflict should be avoided, but also maintained that ties between Greenland and the US should deepen and stated that Greenland is ready to increase cooperation, for example in mining, also underlining the necessity of trade with the US. A handful of parties in Greenland Erik Jensen, leader of the Siumut political party in Greenland, said that the most important thing is Greenland’s independence and independent decision-making, but this – again – sounds the alarm bells and involuntary makes one draw parallels.
This kind of hopeful rhetoric is always inspiring, but rarely (if ever) comes to reflect reality, especially in the context of the US’ rules-based order. This rules-based order is full of contradictions and double standards, something that has been proven again and again over time and that clearly shows the shameless and discriminatory approach of the US. The US has maintained its Monroe Doctrine for years, but Russian concerns about NATO build-up on its borders are ridiculous; Juan Guaido’s attempt at a coup d’état is democracy, but election results in Romania should be cancelled because the wrong candidate won; let us visit al-Jolani in Damascus and try to shake his hand to show our support even though the UN Security Council designates Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham* as a terrorist organisation (by the way, that organization is still on the US’ own list of terrorist organisations) – the list goes on.
Time will tell what awaits Greenland after Trump’s inauguration.
* Organisation banned in the Russian Federation
Vanessa Sevidova, researcher-expert on the Middle East and Africa
