Location, location, location: Greenland's key position above the Arctic Circle makes the world's largest island a key part of the security strategy in the High North. But for whom?
Rising international tensions, global warming and a changing world economy have put Greenland at the center of debates over global trade and security, and US President Donald Trump wants to make sure his country controls the mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime US ally that has rejected Trump's proposals. The Greenlandic government also opposes US plans on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future.
The island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 people, mostly Inuit, who have until now been largely ignored by the rest of the world.
Here's why Greenland is strategically important for Arctic security:
Greenland's Arctic location is key
Greenland is located off the northeast coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory located above the Arctic Circle. This made it crucial to the defense of North America after World War II, when the US occupied Greenland to ensure it did not fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect vital shipping lanes in the North Atlantic.
Since the Cold War, the Arctic has largely become an area of international cooperation. But climate change is thinning Arctic ice, promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting competition with Russia, China and others for access to the region's mineral resources.
Rare earth minerals
Greenland is also a rich source of so-called rare earth minerals, which are a key component of mobile phones, computers, batteries and other high-tech gadgets that are expected to power the global economy in the coming decades.
This has attracted the interest of the US and other Western powers as they try to weaken China's dominance in the market for these critical minerals.
Developing Greenland's mineral resources is difficult due to the island's harsh climate, and strict environmental controls have proven to be an additional obstacle for potential investors.
US military presence in Greenland
The US Department of Defense operates the remote Pituffik space base in northwest Greenland, which was built after the US and Denmark signed the Greenland Defense Treaty in 1951. It supports missile warning, missile defense, and space surveillance operations for the United States and NATO.
Greenland also guards part of the so-called GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) corridor, where NATO controls Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.
Danish Armed Forces in Greenland
Denmark is seeking to strengthen its military presence around Greenland and in the North Atlantic. Last year, the government announced an agreement worth about 14.6 billion kroner ($2.3 billion) with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another self-governing territory of Denmark, to “improve surveillance capabilities and maintain sovereignty in the region.”
The plan includes three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and a satellite system.
Denmark's Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk and is tasked with “surveillance, assertion of sovereignty and military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” according to its website. It has small satellite stations all over the island.
The Sirius Sled Dog Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is also stationed in Greenland.
Arctic security threats
In 2018, China declared itself a “near-Arctic state” as it seeks to gain more influence in the region. China also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic ties with countries around the world.
Then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected China's move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to become a new South China Sea, fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims?”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is concerned about NATO activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capabilities in the polar region. European leaders' concerns have increased following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Stephanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.
