Mathew Burrows
The media outrage over a president-elect who campaigned against war not ruling out the use of military force to obtain Greenland (and the Panama Canal) is right and understandable but misses the Arctic’s growing strategic dimension and Russia and China’s progress in staking out their claims. Greenland is rich in mineral deposits, and its geographic position makes control over Greenland and the Arctic crucial for power projection, rival monitoring, and securing shipping routes.
Many viewers of the second season of the “Trump Show” see the president-elect’s warmongering as just another aspect of his blustering personality and not something to be taken seriously. This misses the significant implications of Trump’s ambitions. Climate change, which Trump has decried as a hoax, is melting Arctic icecaps, potentially revealing previously inaccessible raw material deposits. Greenland’s strategic position and rich raw material reserves, including oil, gas, zinc, copper, platinum, and rare earths, make it crucial in the Arctic region. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the region has an estimated 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that Greenland has 1.5 million tons of rare-earth element reserves, close to the 1.8 million tons in the United States. However, China leads with 44 million tons of deposits and could use them as leverage in a trade war. Given Trump’s tariff threats to China, Greenland’s rare-earth deposits are becoming increasingly significant.
Greenland’s proximity to the Arctic shipping routes means it could play a key role in managing, securing, and controlling these new trade pathways. The Northeast Passage, also known as the Northern Sea Route, is a shipping route along the Arctic coast of Russia that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This route is growing more significant due to the melting ice in the Arctic, creating permanently usable routes that can reduce transport times and costs between Europe and Asia.
The geopolitical dynamics involving Greenland, Russia, China, and the United States will influence the future of global trade and international relations not just in the High North but in the larger play for global advantage among the three great powers.
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