Greenland Responds After Trump Says US Will Control Island ‘One Way or the Other’

The island is crucial to strengthen America’s security in the Arctic region amid Russian and Chinese threats.

Icebergs and pieces of ice drifting at sunset along the Scoresby Sound Fjord in Eastern Greenland on Aug. 16, 2023. Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede dismissed notions of an American takeover of the island after President Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland would eventually come under the governance of the United States.

“We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland,” Egede said in a March 5 Facebook post.

Kalaallit refers to the Inuit people in Greenland who form the island’s majority population.

During his March 4 address to the joint session of Congress, Trump said he strongly supported Greenlanders’ right to determine their future, including choosing to join the United States.

The president said obtaining Greenland will improve the security of the United States as well as the entire world.

“We’re working with everybody involved to try and get it, but we need it really for international world security,” Trump said. “And I think we’re going to get it one way or the other.”

He promised the people of the island that America “will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory, with its foreign affairs and defense controlled by Denmark and domestic matters taken care of by the islanders. Trump had earlier made an offer to Denmark to buy Greenland, which was rejected.

Since the island lies close to the Arctic, Greenland plays a key role when it comes to monitoring security in the North Pole region.

The security relevance of Greenland is heightened by the fact that the Arctic is the shortest path between America and Russia when it comes to intercontinental missiles. China is actively engaging in military and commercial activities in the Arctic.

These factors make it critical for the United States to ensure that Greenland does not come under the influence of adversaries.

The island is set to hold elections on March 11. The previous election was held in 2021. Greenland is estimated to have more than 41,000 voters, with a total population of just below 56,000.

The Greenland government is currently in a caretaker period leading up to the election. The campaign is centered primarily on the island’s independence aspirations in light of Trump’s interest.

Denmark’s foreign minister said earlier on March 5 that it was significant that Trump had recognised Greenland’s right to self-determination in his address to Congress.

“[Trump] said [they] respect the right to Greenlandic self-determination, and that I think was the most important part of that speech,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told a press conference in Helsinki.

Greenland Importance

The push for securing Greenland comes amid fears that as the island moves toward independence, the influence of the United States could wane.

“The U.S. and Denmark have had a long-standing partnership, and it’s worked really well,” Michael Walsh, a U.S. foreign policy expert, told The Epoch Times in an earlier interview. “I think that the concern is that they might not be the partner of the United States in Greenland or the Faroe Islands in the future, if they become independent.”

Greenland is home to a U.S. military base equipped with space surveillance and missile warning systems.

During Trump’s first term in office, the administration tried to strengthen bonds with Greenland in a bid to counter Chinese and Russian Arctic activity.

The island also has vast troves of natural resources. The Arctic region is estimated to house almost 1.669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 90 billion barrels of oil, making up 22 percent of undiscovered conventional oil and natural gas in the world.

The polar region is wealthy in minerals such as gold, nickel, copper, silver, and rare earth elements.

“Greenland is important because the Arctic has become important,” Gordon Chang, political commentator and China expert, told The Epoch Times.

During the Cold War, the region was crucial because of sea lines in the Atlantic Ocean. However, this importance diminished after the Cold War period, he said.

And while Greenland has opposed being taken over by the United States, the island has shown interest in boosting ties with Washington, including economic cooperation.

According to a Feb. 26 post by think tank Geopolitical Intelligence Services, the “most likely scenario is that the U.S. and Greenland will reach a mutually agreeable outcome, which would gain approval from the U.S. Congress.”

“It is unlikely that the Greenland situation will create a significant divide within NATO. Its member states recognize the importance of having the U.S. as the primary security guarantor.”

Emel Akan and Reuters contributed to the report.