Donald Trump
Trump's Greenland coup - trying to scare Denmark into obedience
Wolfgang Hansson
This is a commentary text. Analysis and positions are the author's.
Published 17.28
Quick version
- Donald Trump threatens military force and trade sanctions to incorporate Greenland into the US, which is creating tensions with Denmark and NATO.
- Trump has presented a major neocolonial project and expressed the desire to take over Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal, which is meeting resistance from the countries concerned.
- Trump's actions are aimed, among other things, at countering China's influence in strategically important areas, even though he risks damaging relations with important allies.
When Donald Trump wanted to buy Greenland during his first term as president, people considered it a joke.
When he now threatens to use military force if NATO ally Denmark does not release Greenland, no one is laughing anymore.
Greenland is just one of several neocolonial projects Trump is dreaming of.
When Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland yesterday on the Trumpforce One plane, it was described as a private visit. He wanted to meet Greenlanders and talk.
The visit was possibly private in the sense that Trump Jr. had no scheduled meetings with Greenland's prime minister or other official representatives.
But it is of course no coincidence that the visit is taking place at the same time that Donald Trump has once again started pushing the issue of incorporating the world's largest island into the United States.
When he tried in 2019, he was publicly and rather brusquely rejected by both Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen and the ruling party in Greenland. Fredriksen described the idea as absurd.
Trump was so angry that he canceled a planned state visit to Denmark.
Now he has relaunched the idea shortly before he is sworn in as US president again. This time Denmark is not laughing at him.
–The Greenlandic people will benefit enormously if and when they become part of us, Trump announces. With the addition of “Make Greenland Great Again”.
At a press conference yesterday, he refused to rule out the possibility of the US resorting to military force to take over the island.
Taking over a NATO country
The implication is that Trump is threatening to take over the territory of another NATO country by force. Which must be considered extremely remarkable.
The US president-elect also threatened to impose very high tariffs on Danish goods to scare Denmark into obedience.
This time, Mette Fredriksen, who is still prime minister, is weighing her words on gold scales so as not to anger Trump. At first she said nothing, but yesterday she stated that Greenland is not for sale and urges everyone to respect the Greenlandic people.
Mette Fredriksen weighs her words in gold scales so as not to anger Trump Photo: Lise Aaserud / NTB
But the relationship between Denmark and Greenland is strained. Today, the island has extensive autonomy. In her New Year's speech, the island's prime minister said that it may be time for independence. In such a situation, Denmark is threatening to withdraw its economic support for Greenland. Perhaps Greenland can use Trump's interest to play Denmark and the United States off against each other.
Geostrategically, it is not difficult to understand how Trump is reasoning. Greenland has an extremely strategic location in the Arctic, especially in light of climate change. New transport routes are opening up and it will be possible to extract the rare earth metals that the whole world is clamoring for but which China currently has an almost complete monopoly on.
The United States already has military bases in Greenland. A more natural approach would be to negotiate with Denmark and Greenland about expanded cooperation.
Showing off his muscles
But it is clear that even before he takes office, Trump wants to show who is in charge. He wants to show off his muscles and soften up partners for future negotiations.
In fact, the incoming president has already presented a major neocolonial project in which he not only wants to take over Greenland but also Canada and the Panama Canal. Panama Canal.
When Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau visited Trump in Florida after his election victory, Trump first floated the idea that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. This after he had first threatened to impose heavy punitive tariffs on Canadian goods.
The message was delivered somewhat jokingly, as Trump often tends to do. But since he has since repeated the proposal a number of times, it should be taken seriously. Trudeau announced his resignation the other day, which is partly a result of Trump's pressure on Canada.
But Canada as a US state is a long shot that even Trump probably doesn't think is realistic.
The Panama Canal is different, connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean and allowing cargo ships to take a sharp shortcut instead of rounding Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America.
The canal was built by American engineers and opened in 1914. The canal zone was controlled by the United States.
But under President Jimmy Carter, an agreement was approved whereby the canal would eventually pass into Panama's ownership, which happened in 1999.
Refuses to discuss with Trump
Now Trump wants to take back the canal. He accuses Panama of charging far too high fees from ships passing through.
He claims that China controls the canal. This is not true even though China operates two ports immediately adjacent to the canal.
The canal is also strategically extremely important for world trade. That is why Trump wants the United States to control it.
The president of Panama rules out even discussing the issue of an American takeover with Donald Trump.
At best, Trump's demand is just a negotiating ploy to try to get the fees down. At worst, he is prepared to send American military personnel to take back the canal. No one knows yet how that will turn out.
What Trump's neocolonial projects have in common is that they all involve taking territory from allied countries. Not enemies.
But it is also about countering China's influence. China and Russia have begun cooperation on the Arctic.
Trump still refuses to condemn Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine. Instead, he seems to reason exactly like Putin. That the right of the strong prevails.
The whole thing about respecting the territorial integrity of other countries, a basic rule in international relations after World War II, doesn't seem to be that important.
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