Greenland: Quite island in the eye of storm

Greenland became a formal territory of the Nordic Kingdom in 1953 and is subject to the Danish constitution, meaning that any change to its legal status would require a constitutional amendment. The world’s largest island, 80 percent of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people who until now have been largely ignored by the rest of the world. In 2009, the island was granted broad self-governing autonomy, including the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum. A long time US ally and a founding member of NATO. If Greenland becomes independent, it could choose to become associated with the US.

When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested buying Greenland in 2019, people did not take it seriously. Running into his second term, Trump restated vigorously that he meant business and was serious about Greenland.

Strategically, Greenland sits off the north-eastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. That has made it crucial to the defence of North America since World War II. The U.S. has retained bases in Greenland since the war, and the Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO. Greenland also guards part of what is known as the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. It also sits strategically along the two potential routes through the Arctic, which would reduce shipping times between the North Atlantic and Pacific and bypass the bottlenecks of the Suez and Panama canals. While the routes aren’t likely to be commercially viable for many years, they are attracting attention.

Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and Trump wants to make sure that the U.S. controls this mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America. Greenland has large deposits of so-called rare earth minerals that are needed to make everything from computers and smartphones to the batteries, solar and wind technologies that will power the transition away from fossil fuels. The U.S. Geological Survey has also identified potential offshore deposits of oil and natural gas.

Further, climate change is thinning the Arctic ice, exposing the country’s mineral wealth and melting sea ice promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting the competition with Russia, China and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources.
But Greenlanders are certainly not happy with the idea of allying with the US. Recently, an unsolicited visit by a high-profile American delegation to the semi-autonomous Danish territory was not taken well. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it an “unacceptable pressure” tactic. Frederiksen has rejected the proposal, saying it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their future. She added, “I have to say that it is unacceptable pressure being placed on Greenland and Denmark in this situation. And it is pressure that we will resist.” The governments of both Denmark and Greenland have come out strongly against the idea the Arctic nation can be bought.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said, “We are not for sale and will never be for sale.” “While others, including Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we should not be caught up in the hysteria and let external pressures distract us from our path,” he said.
Certainly when the world is propagating rigorously about mitigating the factors leading to global warming, buying Greenland for political reasons is alarming! Disturbing the ecological balance of the quite island will only lead to mor harm than good to any economy of the world.