US President Donald Trump sees Greenland as a United States nationwide safety precedence to discourage Washington’s “adversaries within the Arctic area”, based on a White Home assertion launched on Tuesday.
The assertion got here days after Trump instructed reporters that the US wants Greenland from a nationwide safety perspective as a result of it’s “coated with Russian and Chinese language ships”.
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Right here’s what you want to find out about what Trump mentioned, whether or not Russia and China are current in Greenland, and whether or not they do pose a menace to American safety.
What has Trump lately mentioned about Greenland?
“Proper now, Greenland is roofed with Russian and Chinese language ships in all places. We’d like Greenland from the standpoint of nationwide safety,” Trump instructed reporters aboard Air Drive One on January 4.
The White Home assertion on Tuesday fleshed out additional particulars on how the US would go about its acquisition of Greenland.
“The president and his staff are discussing a spread of choices to pursue this essential international coverage objective, and naturally, using the US army is at all times an choice on the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White Home assertion says.
Over the course of his second time period, Trump has talked about wanting Greenland for nationwide safety causes a number of occasions.
“We’d like Greenland for worldwide security and safety. We’d like it. We’ve got to have it,” he mentioned in March.
Since 1979, Greenland has been a self-governing territory of Denmark, and since 2009, it has had the appropriate to declare independence by way of a referendum.
Trump has repeatedly expressed a need to take management of the island, which hosts a US army base. He first voiced this need in 2019, throughout his first time period as US president.
As a response, leaders from Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly mentioned that Greenland will not be on the market. They’ve made it clear that they’re particularly not serious about turning into a part of the US.
On January 4, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen mentioned, “It makes completely no sense to speak concerning the US needing to take over Greenland.”
“The US has no proper to annex any of the three nations within the Danish kingdom,” she mentioned, alluding to the Faroe Islands, which, like Greenland, are additionally a Danish territory.
“I might subsequently strongly urge the US to cease the threats towards a traditionally shut ally and towards one other nation and one other individuals who have very clearly mentioned that they aren’t on the market,” Frederiksen mentioned.
US particular forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro throughout an operation within the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on January 3.
Hours later, Katie Miller, the spouse of shut Trump aide and US Homeland Safety Advisor Stephen Miller, posted a photograph on X displaying the US flag imposed on the map of Greenland.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen hit again in an X submit, writing, “Relations between nations and peoples are constructed on mutual respect and worldwide regulation – not on symbolic gestures that disregard our standing and our rights.”
Why does Trump need Greenland so badly?
The placement and pure sources of the Arctic island make it strategically essential for Washington.
Greenland is geographically a part of North America, positioned between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. It’s house to some 56,000 residents, largely Indigenous Inuit folks.
It’s the world’s largest island. Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is nearer to New York Metropolis – some 2,900km (1,800 miles) away – than the Danish capital Copenhagen, which is positioned 3,500km (2,174 miles) to the east.
Greenland, a NATO territory by way of Denmark, is an EU-associated abroad nation and territory whose residents stay European Union residents, having joined the European Group with Denmark in 1973 however having withdrawn in 1985.
“It’s actually difficult if the USA decides to make use of army energy to take over Greenland. Denmark is a member of NATO; the USA is a member as nicely. It actually calls into query what the aim of the army alliance is, if that occurs,” Melinda Haring, a senior fellow on the Atlantic Council Eurasia Middle, instructed Al Jazeera.
Greenland presents the shortest route from North America to Europe. This offers the US a strategic higher hand for its army and its ballistic missile early-warning system.
The US has expressed curiosity in increasing its army presence in Greenland by putting radars within the waters connecting Greenland, Iceland and the UK. These waters are a gateway for Russian and Chinese language vessels, which Washington goals to trace.
The island can also be extremely wealthy in minerals, together with uncommon earth minerals used within the high-tech trade and within the manufacture of batteries.
In response to a 2023 survey, 25 of 34 minerals deemed “important uncooked supplies” by the European Fee have been present in Greenland.
Greenland doesn’t perform the extraction of oil and gasoline, and its mining sector is opposed by its Indigenous inhabitants. The island’s economic system is essentially reliant on its fishing trade.
Are Chinese language and Russian ships swarming Greenland?
Nevertheless, whereas Trump has spoken of Russian and Chinese language ships round Greenland, at the moment, information don’t bear that out.
Vessel monitoring knowledge from maritime knowledge and intelligence web sites comparable to MarineTraffic don’t present the presence of Chinese language or Russian ships close to Greenland.
Are Russia and China a menace to Greenland?
The ships’ location apart, Trump’s rhetoric comes amid a heightened scramble for the Arctic.
Amid world warming, the huge untapped sources of the Arctic have gotten extra accessible. Nations just like the US, Canada, China and Russia at the moment are eyeing these sources.
“Russia has by no means threatened anybody within the Arctic, however we are going to intently observe the developments and mount an applicable response by growing our army functionality and modernising army infrastructure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned throughout an tackle in March 2025 on the Worldwide Arctic Discussion board within the Russian metropolis of Murmansk, the most important metropolis throughout the Arctic Circle.
Throughout this tackle, Putin mentioned that he believed Trump was critical about taking Greenland and that the US will proceed with efforts to accumulate it.
In December 2024, Canada launched a coverage doc detailing plans to ramp up its army and diplomatic presence within the Arctic. Russia can also be establishing army installations and energy vegetation within the area.
In the meantime, Russia and China have been working collectively to develop Arctic delivery routes as Moscow seeks to ship extra oil and gasoline to China amid Western sanctions whereas Beijing seeks another delivery route to cut back its dependence on the Strait of Malacca.
The Northern Sea Route (NSR), a maritime route within the Arctic Ocean, is turning into simpler to navigate as a result of melting ice. The NSR can lower delivery journeys considerably quick. Russia is hoping to ramp up commerce by way of the NSR to commerce extra with Asia than Europe as a result of Western sanctions. Final 12 months, the variety of oil shipments from Russia to China through the NSR rose by 1 / 4.
China can also be probing the area, and has despatched 10 scientific expeditions to the Arctic and constructed analysis vessels to survey the icy waters north of Russia.
