President Donald Trump’s repeated discuss buying Greenland from Denmark has prompted some eye-rolling and diplomatic blowback, but it surely received a respectful airing Wednesday within the first Capitol Hill listening to of the brand new Congress to really take into account the deserves of the thought.
Democrats stay deep skeptics: Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer denounced the thought as “absurd,” a Home invoice has been submitted to rename the huge Arctic island “Purple, White and Blueland,” and there has even been a satirical counterproposal from a bunch of Danes proposing to take management of California.
However the notion of shopping for strategically situated, resource-rich Greenland and making it formally a part of the U.S. isn’t so far-fetched and has been explored a number of instances prior to now, a panel of Arctic and safety specialists advised lawmakers on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Mr. Trump floated the thought of buying Greenland from Denmark in 2019 throughout his first time period within the White Home. His curiosity within the 836,000-square-mile island has solely elevated since his return to workplace. He mentioned Greenland is crucial to America’s financial and nationwide safety and has mentioned the U.S. will transfer to take it.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, famous that the U.S. assuming management of Greenland from an unwilling-to-sell Denmark was initially dismissed as a “wild proposal.”
“However given shifting world dynamics, the geopolitical significance of Greenland makes this dialog one we are able to now not ignore,” Mr. Cruz mentioned Wednesday. “It’s a subject of curiosity to either side of the aisle.”
Greenland isn’t merely some distant island of little curiosity to America. It’s residence to “uncommon earth” minerals essential to a lot of key excessive tech merchandise that the U.S. largely depends on China to produce. Greenland’s proximity to essential maritime commerce routes opening up because the Arctic ice cap recedes additionally has given it new strategic significance in recent times, Mr. Cruz famous.
“Greenland sits instantly on the shortest flight path for intercontinental ballistic missiles touring from Russia and the Center East to the U.S., making its positioning essential to our safety,” he mentioned. “We now have maintained a army presence in Greenland since World Struggle II.”
The Pituffik Area Base serves because the northernmost U.S. army set up and offers essential missile warning and house surveillance, he mentioned.
“The bottom, together with its deepwater port and airfield, is an integral a part of our nationwide safety infrastructure,” Mr. Cruz famous.
Alexander Grey, a senior fellow on the American International Coverage Council, advised lawmakers that the president’s surprising deal with Greenland’s future has resulted in essential public consideration to the island’s mounting strategic significance.
“Whereas this subject has solely just lately gained widespread public consideration, Greenland has lengthy been a focus for U.S. strategists seeking to safeguard the periphery of our hemisphere,” Mr. Grey mentioned.
He mentioned the dialogue over Greenland has largely been with Denmark, which has managed the island since 1814. It has been self-governing since 2009.
“Denmark is a key ally of the USA, [but] this debate should transfer past U.S.-Danish relations as a result of that’s merely ancillary to the bigger selection dealing with the USA,” Mr. Grey mentioned.
He mentioned Greenland is on a transparent observe to finally be totally unbiased of Copenhagen’s management in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later.
“When it will occur is topic to debate,” Mr. Grey mentioned. “It is important that leaders in Washington take severely what the Greenlanders are telling us.”
Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, mentioned Denmark and Greenland are each involved in rising cooperation with the U.S. on a wide range of matters, together with scientific analysis, financial growth and nationwide safety, and that Mr. Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on Greenland solely units again U.S. nationwide pursuits.
“I discover it troubling that whereas our ally is aggressively and actively searching for elevated partnership with the USA, we have now President Trump who insists on buying land that’s merely not on the market,” Sen. Peters mentioned. “The president suggesting that the USA must ‘personal’ Greenland to defend our nationwide safety is fallacious. Threatening our NATO allies on this style undermines our shared mission to work collectively as allies to counter each Russian and Chinese language footholds within the Arctic.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican, mentioned Democrats in Congress have referred to as Mr. Trump’s want to buy Greenland a “click-bait distraction.” The Ohio Republican requested panelists testifying Wednesday whether or not they agreed with that description.
“By no means, and I might say that President Trump’s expressed curiosity in Greenland throughout his first administration yielded very vital steps ahead within the U.S.-Greenland relationship,” mentioned Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute on the Wilson Middle suppose tank.
The reopening of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, was a direct results of Mr. Trump’s intervention in his first time period. It was a “landmark accomplishment that has accomplished super good for the U.S.-Greenland relationship,” Ms. Pincus mentioned.
A U.S. acquisition of Greenland wouldn’t come about on account of army power however quite diplomacy and shared pursuits, Mr. Cruz mentioned.
“The U.S. and Denmark have a powerful relationship and discussions about Greenland’s future don’t have to be adversarial,” he mentioned.
Any determination would additionally require the approval of the individuals of Greenland, probably by a public referendum. The advantages for them can be vital, together with buying American citizenship and the billions of {dollars} of funding that may elevate the usual of residing for the nation’s 50,000 residents, Mr. Cruz mentioned.
“Greenland sits atop huge reserves of uncommon earth components — supplies essential for the whole lot from know-how to nationwide protection. These components are important for the manufacturing of smartphones, army tools, medical applied sciences and procedures, and way more,” Mr. Cruz mentioned. “If the U.S. had been to achieve entry to Greenland’s assets, it might considerably cut back our dependence on international suppliers, notably China, which at present operates a digital monopoly on the uncommon earth market.”
Washington state Sen. Maria Cantell, the rating Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, careworn the significance of a brand new Arctic technique that may solidify American management within the area and permit collaboration with longstanding U.S. allies to satisfy the threats from Russia and China.
“As an alternative of beginning a brand new commerce struggle, America should reinvigorate and increase cooperation with our allies, together with Canada and different Nordic international locations,” she mentioned. “Over time, Greenland could be a wealthy supply for essential minerals, however there are nonetheless excessive limitations to that growth with out the participation of Europeans.”
