Trump warns: USA have to protect Greenland from China, exaggerated fears?
Trump warns: USA have to protect Greenland from China, exaggerated fears?
During his second term, US President Donald Trump focused on a spacious but sparsely populated island that extends to the Arctic circle.
The strategic interest in Greenland
The United States need this island- Interview Was broadcast on Sunday. In the past few months he has repeatedly expressed these comments.
Greenland's importance for international security
"Greenland has a very small population that we take care of and that we will value. But we need it for international security," he said, adding that he would not "rule out" the island. As a reason for his interest, Trump named the presence of Russian and Chinese ships, "Warships everywhere - aircraft carriers, warships - which drive down the coast of Greenland." He emphasized: "We have to protect that."
The military situation in Greenland
Vice President JD Vance expressed a similar assessment during a visit to the only military facility in the USA on the island, the Pituffik Space Base, in March. The basis, which is about 750 miles north of the Arctic circle, is not well protected against "aggressive intruders" from Russia and China, Vance reported to the troops in his speech at the time. "Denmark has not provided the necessary resources to protect this basis and our troops and, in my opinion, to protect the people in Greenland from many very aggressive advances from Russia, China and other countries," said Vance, what is contested by Denmark.
The competition for influence in the Arctic
The interest of the Trump administration in Greenland seems to be part of a more comprehensive power competition in the Arctic, where Russia is a dominant force and China strives to expand its influence and skills. However, experts are amazed at the assessment of the administration. Chinese companies, like many others, have attempts to develop costly and geologically challenging mining projects on the resource -rich island.
failed Chinese projects
These projects have failed, according to experts, either due to economic reasons or because the governments in Greenland's capital Nuuk and NATO partner Copenhagen rejected them. This happened sometimes allegedly from Washington. This has led to the fact that there is "almost no Chinese footprint in Greenland", apart from a limited presence in the fishing industry, said Andreas Østhagen, a senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway.
China's interests in Greenland
Even if experts say that there are Russian military activities in the northern regions and China has expanded its naval activities from Alaska in recent years, there are no publicly known references to Chinese military ships in the waters around Greenland. Østhagen added: "There is no evidence of any 'aggressive advances' of any actor in Greenland, at least not publicly available."
The perception of threats
When a reporter JD Vance used to ask this year whether he was informed about specific threats from China and Russia in Greenland, Vance said that he did not want to become too specific. " However, he added: "We know that the Chinese are very, very interested in this island. We have seen some of the economic attempts at print that they tried to exercise in Greenland." He referred to the term "close Arctic power" that China has been using for over a decade.
China's mineral strategic interest
Greenland is rich in minerals that are important for the production of military and state -of -the -art goods. With the melting of the Arctic ice, the sea routes are also becoming increasingly important for global shipping. The island and its adjacent waters play a strategic role for the USA and its rival. Washington's military base is crucial for the detection of threats from rockets and for the implementation of room surveillance.
military and economic challenges
The USA announced after Vance's visit to replace the commander of the Pituffik Space Base, Colonel Susannah Meyers. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that "actions that undermine the command structure or undermine President Trump's agenda are not tolerated in the Ministry of Defense." The focus of the Trump administration on Greenland and the military ambitions of China in recent years have come against the background of increasing attention to the world powers for the Arctic.
China presented its Arctic strategy in a white book from 2018, in which it declares itself as a "active participant, builder and contributor in arctic matters". China expects the United States to try to "press China from this area of the map", which will lead to a continuing resistance of China.
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