Donald Trump is fixated on taking control of Greenland, with a White House spokesperson recently saying that “utilizing the US military is always an option,” as reported by New Scientist. The spokesperson said in the same statement that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority required to deter adversaries in the Arctic.
Why Trump really wants to ‘buy’ Greenland: POTUS reveals motive as PM speaks out (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg) (Bloomberg)
However, Greenland’s political parties have rejected Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the Arctic island, even after the US President suggested using force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located island.
Trump has said the United States needs to “own” Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so.
“Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland,” Trump told reporters on Friday, January 9, in response to a question from the BBC.
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Trump added that the US will do it “the easy way” or “the hard way.” Recently, the White House said that the administration was considering buying the semi-autonomous territory of fellow Nato member Denmark, but it was not going to rule out the option of annexing it by force.
Both Denmark and Greenland have stressed that the territory is not for sale. Denmark even said that military action would lead to the end of the trans-Atlantic defense alliance.
Trump previously downplayed the significance of Greenland’s natural resources. He told reporters last month, according to CNN, “We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals.”
Trump reiterated the same point this month, telling reporters, “It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”
Greenland’s political parties believe its future must be decided by its people. “We emphasise once again our desire for the US contempt for our country to end,” the leaders of all five political parties elected to Greenland’s parliament recently said in a joint statement.
“We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” they said in the statement, posted on social media by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
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“No other country can meddle in this. We must decide our country’s future ourselves – without pressure to make a hasty decision, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries,” the statement added.
The statement was released hours after Trump said on Friday that he would “do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.” He added that the US military presence in the island under a 1951 agreement with Denmark is not enough to guarantee the island’s defense.