Why the USA Wants Greenland? The Strategic Battle Against China

Why the USA Wants Greenland: Strategic Interests and Global Geopolitics

The American Desire of Greenland: Geopolitical and Strategic reasons.

Greenland might appear on the global map as a frozen and remote landmass--but in the context of the 21 st century geopolitics, it is one of the most strategically prominent places on the planet. The new international following around the remarks by Donald Trump who publicly contemplated the concept of the United States purchasing Greenland. As the suggestion was strange, the reasoning behind it is entrenched in military strategy, natural resources, and great-power rivalry.

Massive Geographical Significance of Greenland.

Greenland is the biggest Island in the world with an area of about 2.1 million square kilometers. It is one of the least populated regions in the world since it has a population of just about 57, 000 people in spite of its huge size.

Ice covers almost 80 percent of the Greenland.

The winter temperatures usually measure -20degC and below.

The island contains approximately 10 percent of global fresh water deposits, which are in glaciers.

Such a mix of a huge territory, small number of residents, and natural inaccessibility of the area is strategically perfect to establish military bases, spyware, as well as control of resources in Greenland.

Old Presence in the United States and History.

The US-interest in Greenland is not a recent phenomenon.

A case in point is the United States rushing to occupy Greenland during World War II as the Nazi Germany took over Denmark and it did not wish to have that dominion over the North Atlantic. This saw development of American military infrastructure.

Key Historical Points:

The US also set up Thule Air Base (currently Pituffik Space Base) which is essential in the detection of missiles and space surveillance.

In 1951, the US president, Harry Truman, offered Denmark 100 million dollars to buy Greenland, yet Denmark declined the offer.

Greenland is a self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark; it has greater autonomy since 2009, although it continues to be economically reliant on Danish subsidies.

Strategic Military Position: The Arctic Benefit.

The position held by Greenland is its largest asset.

Greenland is the hub of Arctic security strategy between North America and Europe.

Why It Matters Militarily:

Surveillance Hub: Greenland enables the US to track the movements of the Russian military, missile tests, and the naval actions of the Arctic.

GIUK Gap Control: Greenland is a component of GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK) which is a major naval bottleneck that is utilized in tracking the Russian and Chinese submarines as they enter the Atlantic.

Missile Defense: Early-warning radar in Greenland will play a crucial role in tracking intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Simply put: whoever controls Greenland, rules the military visibility in the Arctic.

The Treasure Trove of Natural Resources.

Due to the rapid melting of ice as a result of global warming, underground resources in Greenland are becoming more available.

Key Resources:

Rare Earth Elements (REEs):

Greenland holds 24 of the 35 rare earths which are very essential and crucial:

Smartphones & EV batteries

Missile systems & fighter jets.

Satellites & high technology electronics.

This renders Greenland to be among the biggest rare-earth reserves other than China.

Energy Resources:

The island also contains Uranium, oil and natural gas deposits, which make it have a long-term strategic value.

To the US, diversifying the supply chains of rare earth resources under the control of the Chinese is a national security concern.

The China Factor: A Dark Arctic War.

The biggest catalyst behind US urgency is the increasing Arctic ambitions of China.

China's Moves:

Chinese state-related corporations tried to invest in the Greenland airports, ports, and mining.

In 2017, the Prime Minister of Greenland was on a trip to China with the goal of investing in infrastructure.

US & Danish Response:

To counter-fund to block the Chinese firms, the US and Denmark intervened.

The issue: debt-trap diplomacy and 50-year Chinese strategic positions along the borders of the NATO state.

The loss of Greenland to the sphere of influence of China would be a strategic failure on the part of Washington.

Young Conclusion: Why Greenland Still Matters to the US.

Although the notion of acquiring Greenland was officially dismissed by both Danish and Greenlandic authorities, the motives behind it are still the same:

Domination in the Arctic by the military.

Monitoring Russia and China

Acquisition of rare earth resources.

Stalling the Chinese strategic growth.

The US considers Greenland to be a geopolitical center of pressure and the inability of Denmark to exploit the territory to its fullest potential and defend it leaves additional areas that can be exploited by global competitors.

Bottom line: Greenland is not about land, it is about power, security and future distribution of world influence.