Greenland is the world’s largest non-continental island, and it takes up area rent-free in President Donald Trump’s head.
Since 2019, Trump has floated the concept of the US buying Greenland, a sovereign Danish territory, within the identify of American nationwide safety and financial pursuits. The thought was short-lived when Trump first raised it, however returned with drive late final yr.
Trump’s proposal took on a extra pressing tone when, in a January 7 information convention at Mar-a-Lago, he declined to rule out the concept of utilizing navy drive to grab management of Greenland.
Much more lately, in keeping with the Monetary Instances, Trump reportedly spoke with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a “horrendous” name the place he threatened tariffs. “The intent was very clear. They need it. The Danes at the moment are in disaster mode,” one European official advised the Monetary Instances.
The renewed fervor behind Trump’s push to accumulate Greenland is pushed, a minimum of partially, by its clear geopolitical significance. Greenland rests amid main transport routes which have turn into more and more essential as its ice sheet melts and new commerce routes emerge, and it sits above main deposits of oil, gasoline, and uncommon earth minerals which can be important to on a regular basis applied sciences.
Greenland can also be on the forefront of an ongoing Arctic energy battle as Russia and China enhance their commerce, mining, and navy presence within the area.
Unsurprisingly, leaders in Denmark and Greenland — which has its personal parliament and prime minister, separate from Denmark — have pushed again strongly in opposition to US expansionism and rejected Trump’s overtures.
“We’re not on the market and we’re not a commodity,” Naaja H. Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister of Enterprise, Commerce, Mineral Assets, Justice, and Gender Equality, advised Vox. “We’ve got an important many associates within the US, so we’re an American ally. However we aren’t People and don’t want to be People. We need to be Greenlanders.”
Nathanielsen spoke with As we speak, Defined host Noel King about Greenland’s rising strategic significance, how Greenlanders view Trump’s rhetoric, and what America might truly do to work with the nation.
Under is an excerpt of their dialog, edited for size and readability. There’s way more within the full podcast, so take heed to As we speak, Defined wherever you get your podcasts, together with Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
I’m imagining that lots of our listeners won’t have ever been to Greenland. Are you able to inform me a bit about what it’s like?
Properly, I believe many individuals who come listed here are stunned by two issues. One factor is, after all, the great thing about the character. The whole lot is huge and large, the mountains, the fjords and all that. However one other factor, I believe, that struck lots of people is it’s fairly trendy. I believe oftentimes you consider Greenland as one thing the place a number of individuals stay and there’s not loads of exercise, however our cities appear to be many others. It will likely be recognizable for many individuals.
And how much individuals are Greenlanders?
We’re Inuit. We’re Indigenous individuals. So we include — I believe 90 % of the inhabitants, most individuals right here, are Greenlanders with Inuit roots. We do have lots of people from the Nordic international locations and from Asia as effectively. However primarily the inhabitants is made up by Inuit.
So we’ve an exquisite nation with very trendy cities. If somebody had been planning a go to and needed to know what was actually essential, what ought to they know?
Properly, they need to know that Greenland is a trendy democracy, that we’ve our personal authorities, our personal parliament. We’ve got a mineral sector. We’ve got tourism. We’ve got a fishing business. So these are our major revenues. And in addition, you must know that the Greenlandic tradition may be very vibrant and wealthy, despite the fact that we’re solely 55,000 individuals. So there’s loads of music, loads of performs, loads of cultural exercise, which is kind of spectacular for such a small inhabitants.
We had been reminded within the first half of our present that Donald Trump has truly been speaking about Greenland in provocative methods since 2019. Can I ask what you thought once you first heard him single your nation out?
Properly, to start with, I believe we had been type of stunned concerning the supply to purchase Greenland, and we’ve been attempting to determine what’s that about, what’s the story behind that.
And what do you perceive is the story behind that?
We perceive that it’s a measure of nationwide safety for the People. And to some extent, we perceive very a lot that Greenland is a part of the curiosity sphere of the US on the subject of nationwide safety. That’s the reason we’ve a navy base in Greenland.
And we do perceive that that is essential for the monitoring of the Arctic as effectively. So we do agree with the navy presence in Greenland. We do agree with the concepts of increasing the monitoring of the Arctic. So to some extent we agree to what’s being mentioned, however that doesn’t comply with that we need to be People. It simply follows that we perceive that Greenland has an significance for the US by way of nationwide safety.
You’re a authorities minister, and I perceive that diplomacy is one thing that is essential right here. However I form of put the shoe on the opposite foot and I believe, as an American, if one other nation was speaking about shopping for america, I personally can be a bit offended, to be completely sincere with you.
Sure, however we’re offended. And I believe what you additionally want to know, as Inuit we take issues calmly. I imply, it doesn’t assist the state of affairs by panicking. So we’re not panicking, however we’re attempting to know what is that this about and attempting to work with it. The US is a really large nation in comparison with Greenland. We’re solely only a few thousand individuals. So, after all, when the US says one thing, we have to take it significantly. And we perceive that generally politicians speak a giant sport and must ship a message that’s perhaps extra meant for an viewers inside the nation. So I’m simply saying, we’re within the receiving finish and we don’t just like the rhetoric. We don’t recognize it. However we need to work with the message being despatched. We need to determine how can we discuss this in a smart method.
Certain. And being essential in a strategic sense, in an financial sense, isn’t actually a foul factor. Typically it’s a really, superb factor for a rustic.
Truthful sufficient! Which different international locations have expressed curiosity in buying Greenland?
I believe no different nation has had an curiosity in buying Greenland. However we do really feel that there’s extra emphasis on the Greenlandic minerals, as an illustration, these previous couple of years, on a really unhappy backdrop because of the local weather disaster and the warfare in Ukraine and the pandemic that confirmed defective provide chains. There’s been a concentrate on the place might we discover minerals and mine them in a rustic that’s accountable by way of setting and governance. And Greenland is an effective slot in that means. So we’ve been seeing a spurt of curiosity. That’s not the identical as [saying that] that has actually proven itself in loads of investments from outdoors. We’re nonetheless missing funding into the mineral sector, as an illustration.
So maybe the message to President Trump is: We’d truly welcome American funding.
We’d welcome American funding. We truly made a take care of the previous Trump administration in 2019, the place we collectively explored a few of our potentials and had some tasks collectively. And we’ve been attempting for a while to get the Biden administration to extend or broaden that settlement. So we have an interest in doing enterprise with the States. After all, that doesn’t imply we need to be People, however we do need to work with the States in a enterprise sense.
Donald Trump has mentioned a handful of provocative issues about Greenland, however maybe probably the most provocative, a minimum of from the place I sit in america, is that he wouldn’t rule out navy drive in attempting to accumulate Greenland. First, I assume, does that type of speak make you nervous? And second, how is the nation responding to one thing like that?
Properly, after all this makes individuals nervous. We’ve got youngsters that take heed to the media they usually say, “What’s going on? Is the States going to come back and occupy us?” So it’s very unlucky rhetoric. So this has induced my authorities to actually attempt to convey to the general public: “Don’t panic, we’re attempting to work by means of this and determine what’s it about.” As a result of no, I don’t assume that our ally would occupy us. After all not. I don’t count on that from an ally. We’re a part of the Western alliance. We’re a part of NATO. We’re a good friend of the US. We’re a democracy and so is the US. What we try to do is look past the rhetoric and see how can we work collectively after such an announcement.
I do hear you saying one thing that I believe is essential, which is that Donald Trump does speak quite a bit. And we discovered in his first 4 years in workplace that generally he’s very critical and generally he’s truly simply speaking. He’s speaking at occasions to distract from different issues that he’s doing. Generally he’s simply form of talking extemporaneously and issues slip out. I believe it’s truthful and factual to say each of these issues. Is there any sense that you’ve got that maybe this isn’t all that critical?
I believe there was a real curiosity in Greenland for a while in America. So I believe it’s a good evaluation that he ought to be taken significantly about his need to broaden cooperation with Greenland in some type or different. I believe that needs to be taken fairly significantly. And it’s not just one particular person, as I perceive it. As I see it, it’s a few individuals, a bunch of people that have an curiosity in Greenland. And you may see that additionally there was a invoice proposed about buying Greenland.
So I believe this isn’t only one particular person saying one thing. After all, you all the time must take your president critical when he says one thing, and we do too. That’s the secret. However I get a way that there’s something extra than simply speak.