Why in News?

In February 2025, Donald Trump, the incumbent President of the United States of America (USA) reiterated his desire to acquire Greenland, which he considers to be critical to the security of the USA. He has also stated that if required, apart from using economic power he can even resort to military power to take over Greenland.

Apart from this, the USA President Donald Trump, since winning the elections in November 2024 and getting formally elected in January 2025, has also said that he wants to take control of the Panama Canal and make Canada the 51st state of the USA as part of his push for territorial expansion of the USA.

An overview of Greenland's Geography and History

Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is the largest of the three constituent parts of Denmark. The other two are the continental Denmark and the Faroe Islands. The capital of Greenland is Nuuk.

More than 80% of Greenland lies north of the Arctic Circle. The nearest countries to Greenland are Canada and Iceland, with whom it shares a maritime border. If we talk about maritime bodies, then Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean, the Greenland Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Davis Strait, the Baffin Bay, the Nares Strait and the Lincoln Sea.

Greenland is considered to be the world's largest non-continental island (though Australia is much larger and is surrounded by water, it is not considered an island but a continent). As per the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, a programme of the European Union (EU), Greenland is considered the least densely populated region in the world with a population of around 55,000 residents as of March 1, 2025, based on the latest estimates by the United Nations (UN). The population of Greenland comprises mostly Indigenous Inuit people.

The distance between the capitals of Greenland (Nuuk) and mainland Denmark (Copenhagen) is about 3,500 km. Despite that, for a millennium, Greenland has been associated with Norway and Denmark culturally and politically.

Greenland was a Danish colony from the early 18th century until 1953 when it was recognized as a district of Denmark. In 1979, home rule began in Greenland when the ‘Act on Greenlands Home Rule and Elections to the Greenlandic Parliament etc.’ entered into force. Greenland approved the Self-Government Act in 2009 in a referendum which implies that Greenland can assume additional areas of responsibility. However, security, defense and foreign policy cannot be transferred to Greenland.

Perspective of the USA

The USA has considered several times, since the 19th century, to purchase Greenland from Denmark with the most recent discussion being initiated by the USA President Donald Trump (after his formal appointment in January 2025) as part of his expansionism policy.

But one wonders why the USA is so eager to acquire Greenland, a territory whose major part is covered in snow and is located more than 3,000km from the USA’s capital (Washington, D.C.) There are various apparent reasons for the USA wanting to acquire Greenland. First is territorial expansion, i.e., the USA would become the second-largest country in the world by area (after Russia), if it acquired Greenland.

Second, in view of the USA President Donald Trump, acquiring Greenland is vital for the security of the mainland USA. This is because by acquiring Greenland, the USA will be able to control the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap) which is considered to be important for the maritime defense of the USA.

Third, is access to Rare-Earth Elements (REEs), which are a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table (which includes the fifteen lanthanides plus yttrium and scandium) that are in huge demand for their usage in a wide range of products including batteries, electric vehicles (EVs), consumer electronics and military applications. According to surveys by various agencies (such as the European Commission, the United States Geological Survey and others), it is believed that Greenland has the largest deposits of REEs outside China.

Perspective of Greenland, Denmark and Other European Countries

The authorities in Greenland and Denmark have asserted that they are not interested in selling the territory of Greenland to the USA. In fact, to counter the military threat of the USA, Denmark has decided to boost defence spending in Greenland.

Apart from this, various European leaders have criticized the comments made by the US President, saying that his expansionist policies pose a challenge to not only the USA-European Union (EU) ties but can also put stress on the current international order, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In this background, the Chancellor of Germany stated “Borders must not be moved by force. This principle applies to every country, whether in the East or the West.”

Why the USA Wants to Acquire Greenland?

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