{"id":265839,"date":"2025-03-24T20:40:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/why-does-trump-want-greenland-heres-what-to-know\/"},"modified":"2025-03-24T20:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:40:07","slug":"why-does-trump-want-greenland-heres-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/why-does-trump-want-greenland-heres-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does Trump Want Greenland? Here\u2019s What to Know."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/24\/multimedia\/24dc-greenland-explainer-wbvq\/24dc-greenland-explainer-wbvq-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Why Does Trump Want Greenland? Here\u2019s What to Know.\" title=\"Why Does Trump Want Greenland? Here\u2019s What to Know.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Trump\u2019s plans to send representatives to Greenland this week have angered political leaders on the island territory, who see the group\u2019s visit as an aggressive escalation of his threats to seize the area, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump has made no secret of his designs on Greenland, repeating his threats to acquire the territory through a financial transaction or military force several times since his return to the Oval Office. To date, the response of Greenland\u2019s leaders has been polite but firmly opposed, stating it was not for sale.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/23\/us\/politics\/usha-vance-trump-us-greenland.html\" title=\"\">this week&#8217;s visits<\/a> from Usha Vance, the second lady, and Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, have elicited a more agitated response. Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede told <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sermitsiaq.ag\/samfund\/jens-frederik-vigtigt-at-vi-ikke-gar-i-panik\/2212222\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sermitsiaq, a local newspaper<\/a>, that their expected arrival, little more than two weeks after Greenland held parliamentary elections, is \u201chighly aggressive,\u201d and \u201cthe only purpose is to demonstrate power over us.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He also said he feared that the visit would drum up fervor in the United States for a takeover of Greenland, \u201cand the pressure will increase after the visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So why is Mr. Trump so determined to have Greenland? Here\u2019s a window into his thinking.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-175ccf7a\">Greenland is in strategically important territory.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle, a region that the world\u2019s powers are vying for over for its untapped natural resources and its proximity to emerging shipping corridors that would accelerate global trade. Already, melting Arctic ice has transformed the region that was once largely unnavigable into an area of competitive commerce, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/arctic-council.org\/news\/increase-in-arctic-shipping\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">as more ships<\/a> traverse the Arctic Circle and countries with land in the region scramble to lay claim to as much of the seabed as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Routes between Asia and Europe, or Asia and the United States, are about 40 percent shorter through the Arctic than either the Suez or Panama Canals, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usni.org\/magazines\/proceedings\/2013\/july\/cold-hard-realities-arctic-shipping\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to<\/a> the U.S. Naval Institute. That makes the question of who controls the seas there critical for both financial and security purposes, especially given the claimants also happen to be rival geopolitical superpowers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Only five countries can claim to have an extended continental shelf into the Arctic: Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark via Greenland, and the United States via Alaska. Acquiring Greenland would give the United States a significantly bigger claim in the Arctic.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-3ce78e1\">Trump has said it is vital for national security.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe need Greenland for national security and even international security,\u201d Mr. Trump said in March during an address to Congress, adding the territory was \u201cvery, very important for military security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The United States has had troops in Greenland since World War II, and keeps a small missile defense base there called Pituffik Space Base \u2014 formerly Thule Air Base, before Mr. Trump redesignated it during his first administration. It is possible that base could become part of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/4127682\/dods-acquisition-community-already-working-on-golden-dome-big-team-effort-requi\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cGolden Dome\u201d missile defense<\/a> system, modeled after Israel\u2019s Iron Dome system, that Mr. Trump has said he wants to build to protect the entirety of the United States from potential threats from adversaries, especially China. In an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/the-iron-dome-for-america\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">executive order<\/a>, Mr. Trump gave Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, until March 28 to produce the plans for that missile defense shield.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But there are market-based threats Mr. Trump wants to protect against as well. Russia and China are already cooperating on Arctic shipping routes, and with Russia\u2019s extensive presence in the region \u2014 it has the largest area of Arctic coastline \u2014 that partnership threatens to remain the dominant economic force in the area.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-d4a4224\">Greenland could be a rich source for rare earth minerals and energy.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pubs.usgs.gov\/publication\/70035000\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Geological Survey<\/a>, the Arctic holds 13 percent of undiscovered gas resources and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas, most of it offshore. Controlling Greenland would give the United States an expanded claim to those seabed resources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Greenland also uniquely boasts huge stores of rare earth minerals that are vital to the production of batteries, cellphones, electric vehicles and other technology \u2014 and the Trump administration has been looking globally to augment its rare earth mineral holdings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Rare earth minerals have been <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/ukraine-mineral-deal-trump.html\" title=\"\">a key part<\/a> of an agreement that the United States has been trying to strike with Ukraine. Greenland\u2019s stores of cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium, zirconium and other minerals have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/03\/world\/europe\/greenland-minerals-trump.html\" title=\"\">proven challenging to mine<\/a>, but there is another incentive for the United States to seek to control that market: China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Currently, China dominates the world\u2019s raw mineral market, and has already attempted to make inroads in Greenland. Acquiring the territory would allow Mr. Trump to check Beijing\u2019s efforts to exploit minerals there and expand America\u2019s holdings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4502e02b\">Climate change could soon make Greenland a hot commodity.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Part of the reason it has been difficult to exploit Greenland\u2019s resources to date is that it is so darn cold. But with climate change, melting ice is creating new opportunities for resource exploitation. In the last 30 years, about 11,000 square miles of ice sheet have melted, an area about the size of Maryland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Denmark has also <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/eng.geus.dk\/about\/news\/news-archive\/2023\/june\/great-potential-for-critical-raw-materials-in-greenland\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">recognized the potential<\/a> of Greenland\u2019s resources to be vital in the global transition to greener forms of energy. For the local population, the potential for an economic boom from mining is seen as helpful in its bid for independence, which a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/politics\/news\/virtually-no-greenlander-wants-to-join-the-us-poll-finds\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">majority of the population<\/a> wants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the development of the industry has been slow. Greenland has taken steps to limit the potential for environmentally destructive mining practices through laws, including a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/greenland-bans-uranium-mining-halting-rare-earths-project-2021-11-10\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ban on uranium<\/a> mining in 2021. But those could be overturned if the United States acquires the territory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/trump-greenland-why.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump\u2019s plans to send representatives to Greenland this week have angered political leaders on the island territory, who see the group\u2019s visit as an aggressive escalation of his threats to seize the area, by force if necessary. Mr. Trump has made no secret of his designs on Greenland, repeating his threats to acquire the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/24\/multimedia\/24dc-greenland-explainer-wbvq\/24dc-greenland-explainer-wbvq-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[163575,10923,671,52,128437,163486,28314,81146],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265841,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265839\/revisions\/265841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}