WASHINGTON – Following on President Trump’s call for the United States to acquire Greenland, senators from both parties on Wednesday coalesced around the need to increase US influence on the Arctic island. In a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing, senators considered key reasons why acquiring Greenland would be beneficial to the U.S. and its allies.
“Today, we’re here to talk about something that, just a few years ago, was treated as far-fetched but has long been worth serious consideration: the U.S. acquiring Greenland,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the committee. “But given shifting global dynamics, the geopolitical importance of Greenland makes this conversation one we can no longer ignore.”
Some Democrats took issue with President Trump’s effort to purchase Greenland, given that Greenland and Denmark have been steadfast allies.
“Certainly that’s why I find it troubling. That while our ally is aggressively and actively seeking increased partnership with the United States we have President Trump that insists on purchasing land that is, let’s be very clear, it’s not for sale,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
The question about Greenland’s fate comes as the United States increasingly competes with Russia and China for influence over the Arctic and control over the Northwest Passage, the shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific. Although Trump’s plan to acquire Greenland demonstrated his unconventional approach to foreign policy, senators from both parties embraced how his attention to Greenland reflected the importance of the Arctic to the U.S. for security reasons and a source of natural resources.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) stressed that the US must renew and recommit to an Arctic strategy that counters its adversaries and promotes national security.
“We are an Arctic nation, we have interests there, and we need to continue to move forward,” Cantwell said.
President Trump has repeatedly conveyed his interest in purchasing the territory, citing its geopolitical value and rich natural resources. Greenland’s extensive wealth of minerals, which remain largely untapped, includes coal, gold, silver and a variety of other rare earth metals.
Senate committee members also highlighted the socioeconomic benefits that they believe the acquisition would provide to Greenlandic people.
“For Greenlanders, there would be many benefits of becoming an American territory, including American citizenship, including billions of dollars of new American investment in Greenland that would raise the standard of living of the 50,000 Greenlanders there today,” Cruz said.
Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, is home to 56,000 people, with an extensive local government and two representatives in the Danish parliament.
As President Trump seeks to acquire the island territory, Greenland and Denmark firmly declared that the island is not for sale and never will be. The territory has a long history of seeking independence from Denmark.
Dr. Miłosz J. Cordes, a research fellow at the Danish Foreign Policy Society, said the general public in Denmark had taken offense at Trump’s attempts to buy Greenland.
“When we look at it from Denmark’s perspective, Denmark has always, ever since 1945 or even earlier, has based security on this very strong partnership with the United States,” Cordes said. “Some statements might come across as disturbing for many Danes, main Danish politicians, decision makers, but also the broader Danish public.”
However, witnesses such as Mr. Alexander Gray, a senior fellow in National Security Affairs for the American Foreign Policy Council, urged senators to exert more influence in Greenland.
“When Greenland inevitably obtains independence from Denmark, as their leaders again tell us that they will, who is going to greet them on the other side? Will it be Russia and China, with their history of predatory behavior in small developing states and their unwillingness to respect such state sovereignty? Or will it be the United States?”
When asked after leaving the hearing if the purchase of Greenland was something he believed to be plausible, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said, “I think it’s quite realistic. I think much of the history of the United States we have had territorial acquisitions, I think there are enormous geopolitical reasons and economic reasons why it makes sense and brings enormous benefit to the Greenlanders.”
Additional reporting by Paris Fransway.
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