President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States will acquire and control Greenland. The statement, initially considered rude, now seems more likely to come true. So what is the mysterious attraction behind the world's largest island?
According to FT, on January 25, new US President Donald Trump mocked the Danish government's efforts to protect the sovereignty of the world's largest island, Greenland, and affirmed that the US will gain and control this important Arctic island.
Trump's initial proposal to buy Greenland was seen as indecent and sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries in August 2019 during his first term in the White House.
Before taking office for his second term (January 20), Mr. Trump caused a stir again with the idea of buying Greenland from Denmark after nominating businessman Ken Howery as the US ambassador to Denmark.
Sharing on TruthSocial , Mr. Trump wants the United States to own Greenland from Denmark “for national security and freedom for the world” and Ken Howery would do a “great job representing the interests of America.”
In a statement on January 25, Mr. Trump reaffirmed this and said that he believed the US should own Greenland “because it involves freedom for the whole world.” He affirmed that he did not do this for the US, but that only the US “can protect its freedom.” He believed that Denmark could not do that.
Greenland's prime minister on January 10 once again raised the issue of independence from Denmark and said he was ready to discuss with Trump the future of the Arctic territory.
The Danish government is said to be in a “state of crisis” following Mr Trump’s statements that he would not rule out the use of military or economic force to persuade Denmark. Mr Trump also had a lengthy phone call with the Danish Prime Minister on January 15, a conversation that was said to be “tough and tense”.
Previously, Mr. Trump warned that he would impose tariffs on Denmark if his proposal to buy the island continued to be rejected.
What is the special attraction of Greenland?
Greenland is known as a very special island. Geographically, it is considered to belong to North America, but geologically Greenland belongs to the Arctic. What is special is that it is on the shortest route from North America to Europe. That means it is an important strategic location for the United States.
The island is largely covered in snow, but the ice is melting as the earth warms and the habitable land area will increase accordingly.
Greenland has been an autonomous territory of Denmark since 1814. The island has an area of about 2.16 million km2, the largest in the world, with a population of about 60,000 people.
Greenland has many valuable resources such as iron ore, lead, zinc, diamonds, gold, rare earth elements, uranium, oil... Most of the above resources are unexploited because 80% of the island's area is covered by ice.
In addition, Greenland has the world's purest freshwater and ice. It is also a popular adventure travel destination. But more importantly, Greenland is strategically located on new shipping routes in the Arctic as the ice melts.
Greenland is becoming even more important to the US as the Arctic becomes a contested area between many parties that the US does not want to be left out of. Russia and China have long been eyeing and quietly expanding their activities to build up their influence in the Arctic.
The US currently has Thule Air Base on the island of Greenland. This base houses a radar station that is part of the ballistic missile early warning system, used by many important US defense units.
Greenland has extensive autonomy within Denmark. In theory, the islanders have the right to decide for themselves whether to sell the island or not. Reports in 2019 suggested that the Greenlanders did not want to sell to any country. This is something Denmark has made clear. The EU is also considering the possibility of stationing troops in Greenland.
However, a recent survey found that more than half of Greenland's population supports Mr Trump's proposal.
Trump’s bold move is seen as a message to the Greenlanders that they can join the US at any time in the future, just like Puerto Rico. Given Greenland’s importance and America’s position as the number one economy, Washington can pour huge sums of money into developing the world’s largest island.
Throughout history, the United States has made many land purchases to expand its territory. The most recent purchase was in 1867 when the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million. The most famous land purchase by the United States was Louisiana from France in 1803. This land accounts for nearly a quarter of the current US territory.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ong-trump-tuyen-bo-greenland-se-thuoc-ve-my-suc-hut-bi-an-cua-hon-dao-bac-cuc-2367105.html
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