Why Greenland appeals to the hearts of Trump’s real estate investors: location, location, location

Growing international tensions, global warming and a changing global economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and US President Donald Trump wants to ensure his country controls this island rich in minerals who guards the Arctic and Approaches from the North Atlantic to North America.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a long-time ally of the United States who rejected Trump’s overtures. Greenland’s government also opposes U.S. plans on the island, saying the Greenlandic people will decide their own future.

The island, 80% of which is above the Arctic Circle, is home to around 56,000 inhabitants, most of them Inuit which until now have been largely ignored by the rest of the world.

Here’s why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security:

Greenland’s location is key

Greenland is located off the northeast coast of Canada and more than two-thirds of its territory lies inside the Arctic Circle. This has made it crucial to the defense of North America since World War II, when the United States occupied Greenland to ensure it did not fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect crucial North Atlantic sea lanes.

After the Cold War, the Arctic was largely an area of ​​international cooperation. But climate change is thinning arctic icepromising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reignite competition with Russia, China and other countries for access to the region’s mineral resources.

Security threats in the Arctic

In 2018, China declared itself a “near Arctic state” in a bid to increase its influence in the region. China also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic ties with countries around the world.

Mike Pompeo, then US Secretary of State, rejected the Chinese move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to turn into a new South China? Seafraught with militarization and competing territorial claims?

Meanwhile, Russia seeks to assert its influence over large areas of the Arctic, competing with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway. Moscow has also sought to strengthen its military presence in the polar region, home to its Northern Fleet and where the Soviet Union has tested nuclear weapons. Russian military officials said the site was ready to resume testing, if necessary.

In recent years, the Russian military has restored old Soviet infrastructure in the Arctic and built new facilities. Since 2014, the Russian army has opened several military bases in the Arctic and worked to rebuild airfields.

The concerns of European leaders were intensified following Full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was concerned about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and would respond by strengthening the capabilities of its armed forces in the region.

“Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely monitor developments and develop an appropriate response by increasing our military capacity and modernizing military infrastructure,” Putin said in March at a political forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk.

He added, however, that Moscow was keeping the door open for broader international cooperation in the region.

American military presence in Greenland

THE US Department of Defense operates the isolated Pituffik space base in northwest Greenland, which was built after the United States and Denmark signed the Greenland Defense Treaty in 1951. It supports missile warning, missile defense, and space surveillance operations for the United States and NATO.

Greenland also keeps part of what is called GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gapwhere NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.

Danish Armed Forces in Greenland

Denmark prepares to strengthen its military presence around Greenland and in the wider North Atlantic. Last year, the government announced a deal worth around 14.6 billion crowns ($2.3 billion) with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another autonomous territory of Denmark, to “improve surveillance capabilities and maintain sovereignty in the region.”

The plan includes three new military ships in the Arctic, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity.

Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, and is responsible for “monitoring, asserting sovereignty and military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” according to its website. It has small satellite stations spread across the island.

The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that carries out long-range reconnaissance and reinforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is also stationed in Greenland.

Rich source of rare earth minerals

Greenland is also a rich source of so-called rare earth minerals that are a key part of cell phones, computers, batteries and other high-tech gadgets expected to power the global economy in coming decades.

This has sparked the interest of the United States and other Western powers, which are trying to ease Chinese dominance in the market for these essential minerals.

Developing Greenland’s mineral resources is challenging due to the island’s harsh climate, while strict environmental controls pose an additional barrier for potential investors.

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Stefanie Dazio in Berlin and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.