Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark and the world's largest island, has gained spotlight this week for reportedly being earmarked by US President Donald Trump for a purchase by the United States
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2019) Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark and the world's largest island, has gained spotlight this week for reportedly being earmarked by US President Donald Trump for a purchase by the United States.The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources in the White House, that Trump had inquired about the possibility to purchase the island "with varying degrees of seriousness" and listened keenly to his advisers discussing the territory's "abundant resources and geopolitical importance."
While some advisers have supported Trump's idea as economically attractive, others have voiced the belief that this is just a "fleeting fascination" of the president that is unlikely to materialize. A source told the Wall Street Journal that Trump could be just joking to indicate that he is powerful enough to make such a purchase.
Even if Trump seriously primed for purchasing the ice-covered island, experts wonder at what price and with what budgetary resources this can be done.
"The US military budget, though endowed annually with $700 billion, does not have reserves, considering the importance of the ongoing US military investments. While it would still be possible to have the Federal Bank print considerable sums of dollars, this would unbalance the dollar as a currency. Moreover, American taxpayers, already judging themselves already overtaxed by the federal budget, could not see this with a very favorable eye," Jean-Paul Baquiast, former top civil servant in ex-French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's government and political analyst, told Sputnik.
The purchase would allow the United States to pursue multiple geopolitical interests in the area, including access to natural resources, first of all gas, fish reserves, as well as a potential establishment of a maritime route that would run above Canada and Siberia at a much shorter trajectory that via Suez or Panama.
However, the president's idea, if ever realized, unlikely to significantly affect the strategic balance in the Arctic region, shared by Russia, the United States, Canada and the Scandinavian countries, Baquiast believes.
"Inevitably, in Moscow, in the military circles, this prospect can however worry. If the United States insisted, would Denmark not be politically obliged to satisfy American interests and sell Greenland to the Americans, including at a friendly price? Admittedly, the fact that the Pentagon would set up more American bases would not significantly alter the current strategic balance between the two great military powers. Nevertheless, in the eyes of Russian, Chinese and world opinion, this would be seen as a step back for Russia," the expert said.
DENMARK SAYS IT'S A JOKE BUT SEEMS TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY
Queen Marghrete II of Denmark will receive Trump and his wife Melania on an official visit in a few weeks, in September 2019. The possible acquisition of Greenland from Denmark is not on the American delegation's agenda of the meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. According to Frederiksen's press release, the Arctic will be in the focus when Trump visits Denmark.
Yet, Greenland's Foreign Ministry has already reacted to the alleged purchase plans.
"Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We're open for business, not for sale," the ministry posted on Twitter.
Several Danish politicians, too, have spoken on the matter.
Former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Twitter that "it must be an April Fool's Day joke ... but totally out of sesson [season]!"
Rasmus Jarlov, a representative of the Conservative People's Party, said "Out of all things that are not going to happen this is the most unlikely. Forget it."
Michael Aastrup, a parliament member from liberal party Venstre, echoed them by posting "Greenland is not for sale! Times when one could buy territories and people have long gone. I hope that our government will declare this firmly to Trump when he pays a visit to Denmark, on behalf of the Danish society."
US ALWAYS HAD AN EYE ON GREENLAND
This is not the first attempt by Washington to acquire Greenland. In 1946, President Harry Truman offered to Denmark $100 million for the island, but was refused. Moreover, the State Department eyed the possibility of purchasing Greenland as early as in 1867.
Alexandre del Valle, an international political analyst, believes that the fact of Trump regularly bringing up the topic of buying Greenland should not be ridiculed. After all, the United States bought Alaska from Russia for just $7 million in 1867 after figuring out it was rich in mineral reserves, he recalled.
"The USA tried to buy Greenland in 1867, but a real geopolitical interest in Greenland developed mainly after the second world war, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for 100 million euros. Denmark refused to sell it but the interest of the United States remains high for the resource base of Greenland, including the hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast," del Valle told Sputnik.
Aside from resources, Washington could pursue military interests in Greenland, or speaking more broadly, in the Arctic region, the expert claimed.
"The NATO alliance is still no covering the Arctic region. It is more the USA and Canada that cover it, with a very large military air base in Thule Pittufik, in the North West of Greenland. There it is NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defence Command) which means Canada and the USA to run the show," del Valle said.
According to him, Denmark has, in theory, the military capacity to exercise its sovereignty in Greenland, but the Danish army is disproportionately small to cover the island's vast territory, while Greenland itself has no army or troops whatsoever. That is why Denmark has delegated the greatest part of its defense to the United States and United Kingdom since the end of World War II.
"The Arctic region, including Greenland, was neglected for many years, during the Cold War, but the Arctic arouses more and more greed today. In the wake of global warming, the maritime "North West passage" becomes a sea route and the region natural resources are beginning to be exploitable. So the United States, Canada, Russia are in first line; Denmark and the Scandinavians far behind... Regional balance could change in the next decades," del Valle added.
US MILITARY STRONGHOLD IN ARCTICS
In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the United States to continue using its Thule Air Base in north-west Greenland; it was greatly expanded in the 1950s within the framework of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy.
"Thule Air Base/ Pituffik airport, with its 700 members of personnel, is the most northern military base of the United States. It is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)," a Brussels-based military expert Pierre Henrot told Sputnik.
According to Henrot, the United States uses the base as a radar center for its anti-ballisitc missiles early warning defense system. Washington even tried to construct secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm in the 1960s, but the project proved to be dysfunctional and got abandoned.
"The access [to the Thule military base] is very restricted by the Danish and American authorities; difficult to get there. All travelers must be in possession of a special transit or residence permit. Thule Air Base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron (12 SWS) which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America. They also have a global satellite control network on site," the expert explained.
Since 1814, Greenland has been an autonomous part of Denmark. As of 2018, the island's population counts only 55,877 inhabitants, Inuit fishermen for the most part. The capital Nook is tiny, but Denmark has given the island a significant autonomy over the years. Greenland had joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark in 1972, but decided - autonomously and by referendum - to withdraw from the EEC in 1985.
Denmark still only sees to the foreign affairs and defense of Greenland and gives it an equivalent of 400,000 euros in Danish krone in subsidies annually. It should reduce over time, for Greenland itself is rather rich in mineral resources and hydrocarbon deposits off its coasts.
Greenland today is among the world's territories that use the cleanest energy - up to 70 percent of its energy is of hydro-electric nature.
