US President Donald Trump, who has openly violated international norms and invaded Venezuela and taken President Nicolás Maduro prisoner, is now advancing with what appears to be another unusual act of renewed bellicosity. Trump, who once boasted about purchasing arctic Greenland — the world’s largest island — has also declared at various times that he intends to bring Greenland under American administration. These statements have already triggered public outrage, though it may take time for resistance to Trump’s ambitions to fully materialise. Even earlier during his first term, Trump had mooted buying Greenland outright. Denmark, which administers the island, firmly but politely responded that Greenland was not for sale. Still undeterred, Trump went on to voice imperial ambitions, suggesting that military force could be used to seize Greenland if necessary. In terms of military equation, the event of a military confrontation, Denmark would struggle to hold out. Greenland has a population of fewer than 60,000 people, while Denmark itself has only about 5.5 million inhabitants, compared to the United States’ population of 330 million. This imbalance extends to military power as well, making a U.S. military operation relatively a cakewalk. However, it is also true that Russia and China may not remain passive observers in such a scenario.
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As NATO members, Denmark and the United States are bound by a collective defence obligation by which an attack on one member state is considered an attack on NATO as a whole. Therefore, if one NATO country were to attack another fellow member, it would fundamentally upend the global order. This is why, immediately on the heels of Trump’s statement, several European countries warned that such an action could effectively spell the end of NATO.
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There are reasons why the United States has set its sights on Greenland. Beneath its ice-covered terrain, Greenland has vast reserves of minerals and metals that are crucial to the modern world. Among them are rare earth elements essential for the production of semiconductors used in nearly all electronic devices. These minerals are also vital for renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles. Greenland is also believed to have reserves of uranium, a resource critical for both nuclear energy production and nuclear weapons. China, which currently holds a dominant position in the global rare earth supply chain, is actively expanding its influence in this sector. And if China were to take control of Taiwan — source of most of the world’s semiconductor production — the United States would face a serious strategic challenge in yet another critical industry. Greenland’s geographical location further heightens its importance to major powers. As global warming increases the number of months the surrounding waters remain navigable, shipping distances between the United States, Asia, and Europe could become significantly shorter and more efficient.
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As American ambitions came up for global debate, reactions began to emerge in earnest. Within US itself, the Greenland Sovereignty Protection bill, introduced in the Senate on Tuesday through a bipartisan initiative by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, seeks to bar the US President from seizing the territory of any NATO member state, including Greenland. Under the bill, neither the Department of Defence nor the State Department would be permitted to use federal funds to take control of, or impose sanctions on the territory of a NATO ally. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who introduced the legislation, emphasized that taxpayer money cannot be used for actions that divide NATO or violate the alliance’s foundational principles. If passed, the bill would place limits on arbitrary and unilateral presidential actions that threaten NATO unity and stability.
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Meanwhile, on the other side European countries have strongly pushed back against Trump’s statements. Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark have all made it clear that Greenland belongs to its people, and that only Denmark and Greenland have the right to determine their own affairs. Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has also stated that if forced to choose between the United States and Denmark, Greenland would choose Denmark at any time. Although the United States maintains a military presence in Greenland, Trump has argued that the island must be acquired for more robust American security, citing the growing presence of Russian and Chinese naval forces - which incidentally are unconfirmed. However, one of Greenland’s two representatives in the Danish parliament rejected this dictum, saying, “We do not want to be Americans. We want to preserve our own language, identity, and culture—and we cannot do that if we become part of the United States.” Trump’s approach frames security as a justification for undermining another country’s sovereignty and siphoning off the resources of an occupied territory to serve American interests. Few could have imagined such a dramatic reversal in the history of an island that, until recently, attracted little global attention.
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