The next big war is likely to be fought over Greenland as US President Donald John Trump is keen to purchase the world’s largest island, full of oil, gas and various valuable minerals.

The US expressed desire to purchase Greenland after the Second World War (in 1946) in a first. At that period of time, the intention of Washington DC was to use the island as a buffer zone during its Cold War with the erstwhile Soviet Union. However, the US failed to fulfil its desire in the 1950s and only managed to increase its military presence in Greenland.

During his first term as US President (2017-21), Trump wanted to acquire Greenland only for grabbing land. Now, it has become essential for defence purposes as the US wants to set up bases for missile launch and anti-submarine operations in Greenland. Washington DC has been using Greenland as one of its military bases for a long time as it is easier to hide nuclear-powered submarines under the ice sheets. In other words, the US has a considerable presence in Greenland. However, President Trump wants full ownership of the island. He has claimed that Russia and China are increasing their military presence in the Arctic region, stressing that Greenland would become a safer place under US control.

Denmark, which colonised Greenland in the 18th Century, recognised the island as an autonomous region in 1979. Apart from the US, several other countries, including Russia, China, Australia and even the European Union (EU), are eager to take control of this autonomous territory (in the Kingdom of Denmark). Meanwhile, European powerhouses, like France and Germany, do not want the US to take control of Greenland. Hence, they back Denmark on the Greenland issue. Russia and China have started improving their long-range missiles in order to use them against the US, if necessary! Political analysts are of the opinion that the Arctic region could become a new epicentre of global conflict in near future.

President Trump, too, is trying to create a special zone (of US influence) in order to counter Russia and China. His top priority is to occupy Greenland because of its geographical location. It may be noted that the importance of the Arctic Ocean has increased in recent times, with melting of ice due to Climate Change. The average temperature of Arctic region has risen at a rate of almost four times the global average, warming faster than any other region on the Earth! Hence, new maritime routes have been created and the distance between the Pacific Ocean and the North Sea has decreased.

The rapid melting of ice sheets in Greenland has triggered natural disasters, like rise in sea levels, storms, etc. Interestingly, the development has also created economic opportunities, with melting ice sheets providing easy access to rare metals and minerals, including elements known as Rare Earth! These elements are required to manufacture electric cars and parts of wind power generators. Hence, Greenland has become an increasingly valuable region to Western countries.

Currently, China has the largest reserves of Rare Earth elements. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Asian giant controls 60% of the Rare Earth market. The West is desperately trying to counter the Chinese monopoly, although the task is a difficult one. A Local Government in Greenland cancelled the mining license of an Australian company in 2021 due to the risk of uranium contamination. Many countries are reluctant to allow mining of Rare Earth elements for the same reason. However, these elements are essential to reduce the usage of polluting fuels, like coal and gas.

Although Greenland is an autonomous region controlled by Denmark, citizens of this island nation want their country to gain independence. The inhabitants of Greenland were previously called Eskimos. Now, this particular term is considered disrespectful. Hence, they are called Inuit. Greenland has a population of just 57,000 and around 90% of them are Inuit who want to erase their colonial past. It may be noted that local residents covered a statue of Hans Poulsen Egede (January 31, 1686 – November 5, 1758), a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary and one of the colonisers of Greenland, in red paint in 2021. The incident prompted the concerned authorities to cancel their plan to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Egede’s arrival in Greenland.

A heated debate is going on in Greenland on whether to allow mining of valuable minerals. Meanwhile, the Western countries are determined to actively promote and prioritise the utilisation of clean energy sources that produce minimal to no harmful emissions. For this, a steady supply of Rare Earth elements is required. No matter how keen Greenlanders are to keep their country free of uranium contamination, it is unlikely that their wishes would take precedence amid international tensions.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das