Why Does Trump Want Greenland?| Strategic Importance Explained |Latest Update | Drishti IAS English

Trump's obsession with Greenland is not new.

But what is so special about this island country that a major superpower of the world is behind it?

In this session, we will find out. Hello students, welcome to Drishti IAS.

Let's get started.

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Now let's talk about the issue over here.

So the White House has said that US President Donald Trump is looking at options including the use of military force for acquiring Greenland in order to achieve a key foreign policy objective.

Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.

We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.

Because they feel that the entire region, in a statement, Trump has said that the entire region right now is covered with Russian and Chinese ships.

And they see this situation as a threat to their national security, that is why US wants to acquire Greenland.

And this is not the first time that USA has made such a statement.

Before also, Trump has revealed his plans of buying Greenland.

Of acquiring Greenland, and Denmark also time and again has made it clear that Greenland is not for sale.

Right now also the situations are not very good at the moment.

Because both these countries, US and Denmark, are members of NATO.

So it's a fragile situation at the moment.

USA has been saying that it wants to acquire Greenland.

And Denmark again has been saying that any such military use is not going to be entertained.

In fact, Denmark also released a bold statement that shoot first, ask questions later.

So these situations are getting very heated up right now.

Let's see what happens.

But today we are going to analyze why does Trump want Greenland so badly?

So let's see where Greenland is.

Greenland is the world's largest island.

You see Greenland is situated over here between North America and Europe.

Geographically, it is closer to North America, but culturally it is closer to Europe.

This is an autonomous region of Denmark.

So Greenland first was a colony of Denmark, then it acquired home rule in 1979.

Home rule in 1979.

And in 2009, it acquired self-rule.

This means that Greenland has an autonomy in its internal matters, internal matters, Greenland has a Prime Minister, it has a Parliament.

It can take care of its natural resources, polity, etc.

In internal matters, but for all the other critical matters like your defense, foreign policy, monetary policy, all these things are going to be taken care by Denmark.

So the head of the government is the Prime Minister of Greenland, but the head of state is the monarch of Denmark.

So this is an autonomous region, autonomous territory of Denmark.

A very small population of around 57,000.

And they are largely Inuits.

If you look at the topography of the region, it is mostly filled with glaciers, we have drugged mountains, your fjords.

And then the major portion is covered with permanent ice sheets.

So most of the time throughout the year it is covered with permanent ice sheets.

Then what is the reason that Trump wants this so badly if it's covered with permanent ice sheets?

So if you look at the strategic importance of this place, the location is very, very critical.

I told you this is situated between North America and Europe.

Now, even though it is permanently covered with ice sheets for most of the year, please note that right now the entire world is going through what?

Climate change.

Climate change, global warming is happening.

Which means that these ice sheets are melting and when the ice sheets are going to melt, the region is going to become navigable.

So it is going to save a lot of time, a lot of transit time, a lot of shipping time between North America and Europe.

Because right now they have to rely on the traditional Suez Canal and this, the melting of ice sheets is going to make the waters navigable.

And the transit time is going to reduce significantly.

So the location.

Location is very strategic.

Then the GIUK gap is also present here.

GIUK gap is Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom gap.

Which is a naval choke point.

This is a naval choke point.

So if US has control over this gap, then again it will have control over the major shipping routes, major transit routes.

That is why also US wants this.

Then the Pituffik Space Base.

So there is a space base in Greenland.

Somewhere over here.

Which already belongs to the USA, US has set up this Pituffik Space Base.

Where some army personnel, some air force personnel, some space personnel of USA are already deployed.

So if USA gets the control of the entire region over here, it is going to be easier for US to operate the space base and the nearby areas also.

And then the most important thing is that Greenland is rich in resources.

What kind of resources?

The ones that everyone is looking for.

The rare earth minerals.

Now I told you because the entire region is covered with permanent ice sheets and because Greenland has an autonomy in controlling its internal matters, internal issues, natural resources and everything.

That is why Greenland did not use to allow mining or extraction of these things.

Because it was not even feasible.

And then it was also detrimental to the environment.

But now because global warming is happening, because these ice sheets are melting, it is going to get easier to mine these resources, to extract these resources.

And right now we know that China holds a near monopoly when it comes to the rare earth minerals.

Greenland has a potential of 1.5 million metric tons of rare earth minerals.

And US has 1.8 million metric tons.

So if US acquires Greenland, it can almost double up its capacity.

That is why.

This is one of the most important reasons because of which USA time and again wants to acquire Greenland.

However, USA has been maintaining its stance that we are not behind these resources, natural resources, we are behind the national security of our region.

But this could also be an underlying issue because we know that rare earth minerals are required right now for almost everything, for electric vehicles, for the energy sector, for our semiconductors, for mobiles, telecommunication, defense, space, etc.

So whoever is going to have a control over these rare earth minerals, they are going to have a control over the entire world's supply chain.

So these are some important reasons because of which USA time and again wants to acquire Greenland.

But what is the way forward here?

So I told you that both USA and Denmark are members of NATO.

And major leaders of NATO, they have made this statement that Greenland belongs to its people.

It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.

So the majority leaders over here have shown their support to Greenland and Denmark versus USA.

And if USA uses military force to acquire the region, then it would also lead to a demise of NATO.

Because both these countries are members of NATO and then most of the countries are going to favor Denmark over here.

So a lot of issues can arise if USA decides to use military force to acquire Greenland.

Now this again is a developing story.

We are yet to see what's going to happen.

But today's issue was about understanding what are the major reasons behind which behind this obsession that Trump has with Greenland.

I hope you were able to understand all that.

Now let us look at a practice question for Prelims.

With reference to Greenland, consider the following statements.

One, Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Two, a major portion of Greenland is covered by a permanent ice sheet.

Three, Greenland has no human settlement.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A, 2 only.

B, 2 and 3 only.

C, 1 and 2 only.

Or D, 1, 2 and 3.

Please attempt this question and provide your answers in the comment section.

Thank you for watching.