Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland, US military always an option: White House

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Tuesday (Jan 6) that President Donald Trump is discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the US military, in a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island despite European objections. 

Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to "deter our adversaries in the Arctic region", the White House said in a statement. 

"The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal," the White House said. 

Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the US. Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind the Arctic territory ⁠on Tuesday, saying it belongs to its people. 

A US military seizure of Greenland from a longtime ally, Denmark, would send shock waves through the NATO alliance and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders. 

The strong opposition has not deterred Trump from reviewing how to make Greenland a US hub in an area where there is growing interest from Russia and China. 

Trump's interest, initially voiced in 2019 during his first term in office, has been rekindled in recent days in the wake of the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 

Emboldened by Maduro's capture last weekend, Trump has voiced his belief that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again”, and put pressure on both Colombia and Cuba. 

He has also ‌started talking about Greenland again after months of having put it on the back burner.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Trump and his advisers are discussing a variety of ways to acquire Greenland. 

Those options include the outright US purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the territory, the official said. 

A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump's ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the US.

The official did not provide a potential purchase price.

"Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely ‌be his first instinct," the official said. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that recent administration threats against Greenland did not signal an imminent invasion and that the goal is to buy the island from Denmark. 

US Representative Don Bacon, a Republican, called on the Trump administration to stop openly coveting Greenland. 

"The way we are treating them is really demeaning, and it has no upside," Bacon told CNN on Tuesday.

Administration officials say the island is crucial to the US due to its deposits of minerals with important high-tech and military applications. 

These resources remain untapped due to labour shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.

“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president's drive to acquire ‌Greenland during his remaining three years in office. 

Analyst Troy Bouffard said Trump’s ambitions towards Greenland would be counterproductive, given the US’ long-standing military presence on the island, which already provides key defence capabilities for North America, including missile-warning systems and space surveillance. 

He added that while the US must adapt to evolving military technologies and emerging threats, those adjustments can be achieved through existing partnerships and diplomacy.

“Greenland is more important to us for defence purposes than ever before,” said the director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Arctic Security and Resilience. 

“But we already have a relationship with Denmark and a presence in Greenland that is taking care of our defence needs. There's no need to seize or capture Greenland.”

Bouffard warned that any attempt to take Greenland would risk alienating NATO allies and set a dangerous precedent for other major powers. 

“If such an extreme scenario does happen, we're looking at NATO and Western allies becoming less stable, less strong, less cohesive, which works very much in favour of our adversaries,” he told CNA’s Asia Now.