What does the island know that Trump is so eager to occupy that he even sent his son there?

“Greenland is an incredible place and people will benefit tremendously if and when it becomes part of our nation,” Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

Not long after, further stirring tempers, he reiterated that it was in the United States’ core interest to get his hands on Greenland and the Panama Canal, saying both were important to American national security.

When asked by journalists whether he would rule out the use of military force or economic pressure in order to take over the autonomous territory belonging to Denmark or the canal, he answered:

The statement made at Mar-a-Lago in Florida is not difficult to interpret as concretely willing to do anything in the famous pro-peace politician.

Of course, Denmark and Panama rejected the idea out of hand. joining them, the Prime Minister of Greenland, Múte B Egede, also freaked out, saying We are not for sale and we will not be for sale.

But on what basis did Trump come up? Do you seriously think you can step over that?

The president-elect’s comments came just as his son, Donald Trump Jr. He visited Greenland – in a private plane with a huge Trump sign on it.

Before arriving in the island’s capital, Nuuk, Trump Jr. excused himself by saying that he was just for a day trip he arrives simply to talk to the locals and has absolutely no plans to meet with the leaders there.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was immediately contacted by the local TV2 to say something about Trump’s suggestions: – Greenland belongs to Greenlanders, and only the local population can determine its future came the reply, adding that Greenland is not for sale. But he also mentioned that Denmark needs close cooperation with the United States, as the most important NATO ally.

Greenland – with a population of just 57,000 people – is the world’s largest island, roughly the size of half the European Union. During the Cold War, when it was still a Danish colony, the United States – under the leadership of then President Harry Truman – already tried to buy the pot for 100 million dollars in gold. Of course, Copenhagen said no to the Alaska scenario.

Just look at the map to see why Greenland is of interest to the United States:

the shortest route from Europe to North America is through an island – not only for airplanes, but also for Russian intercontinental missiles.

The Americans in World War II They have been continuously present in the region since World War II. Although the Danes did a lot to change this, the Pituffik Space Base to this day, it is the northernmost strategic installation of the United States Armed Forces – including the Thule radar station.

The area is also very rich in natural resources, including rare earth minerals, and is of course strategically important for shipping trade. It is no coincidence that global powers are trying to expand their reach in the Arctic Circle.

Russia in particular moves a lot in the region, but Trump should not be afraid of them primarily, but mostly of China

It is not a well-known fact that China is still one of Greenland’s biggest trading partners, even if it is limited to its seafood and sealskin. However, the Chinese push was not always so restrained: Politico writing According to Beijing, even before the Covid-19, Beijing announced its Arctic strategy and pledged to build an “Arctic Silk Road” under the One Belt One Road initiative.

The announcement caused serious concern in Copenhagen and Washington, what will happen if Beijing sets foot on resource-rich but sparsely populated Greenland – an island country belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, where there is already more and more talk of real independence anyway.

How exaggerated these fears are, nothing shows better than in Greenland

China can currently be represented by approximately 50 guest workers who work on fishing boats in harsh conditions.

Of course, there were attempts, China tried to gain a foothold, and even tried to obtain a monopoly in the field of rare earth metal mining – in fact, they would have built two airports in order to boost the business. But either they realized it was too cold, or the US mine work was effective: American interests in Greenland gradually pushed China out of virtually every area – With the powerful help of Denmark.

Washington considers Greenland to be part of the North American hemisphere and, of course, its sphere of interest – completely independently of Trump. In addition, the president-elect already floated the idea of ​​buying the island in 2019. Mette Frederiksen was also prime minister at the time, but as a newcomer she rejected Trump with such fervor that he even canceled his planned visit to Denmark. Nowadays, Frederiksen prefers to direct the bidder to Greenland – he even got his own from the Danish opposition for this softness. It is true that they hastily announced that they would increase Greenland’s defense spending enormously.

What’s new now is that the Trumps apparently jumped on the imperial plan as a family: second-oldest son Eric Trump posted a picture on X showing the United States adding Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada to the Amazon to your online shopping cart.

And it’s very spicy that

according to those who know him, ice melting may be behind Trump’s intention to describe climate change as a hoax.

There are plenty of people in the incoming Trump administration who see the Arctic as a route that might reduce the use of the Panama Canal – which Trump says is already controlled by the Chinese.

As far as statistics are concerned, it is true that the number of ships entering polar waters is increasing every year. In the decade from 2013 to 2023, the total annual distance traveled by ships in the Arctic Ocean more than doubled.

In the longer term, many speculate that cargo ships could travel from Asia to Europe and the US East Coast via Arctic waters over Canada and Russia. But despite climate change, the Arctic remains an inhospitable place – even during ice-free periods, which are currently limited to roughly September.

Most of the route it is far away disaster response capacities, emergency infrastructure, weather forecasting systems. Not to mention that if the average temperature of minus 40 degrees jumps to minus 37 within a few decades, it is far from a significant change.

But what do the Greenlanders want?

They didn’t ask the Chinese, and for now it looks like they didn’t ask the Americans either. In fact, they couldn’t even break away from the Danes – because independence is a good thing, but the processes of separation are moving quite slowly – especially if you have to worry about what kind of effect would be well-accustomed to the standard of living. Greenland’s politicians often say they are interested in strengthening trade relations with the United States, but they don’t think much further than that.