COPENHAGEN/WASHINGTON — Danish PM Mette Frederiksen announced Sunday that Denmark is at a critical crossroad in a diplomatic conflict with the US over the status of the semi-autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Frederiksen stated the words prior to the Arctic competition and the competition over raw materials of critical importance meetings in Washington D.C.
Frederiksen informed legislators that it is a dispute over Greenland, and that there exists underdogs other than the question of how soon Greenland will be decided upon. Through a Facebook posting, she indicated that Denmark is willing to protect our values at any place we need to do so in the Arctic, to support international law and self-determination.
U.S. President Donald Trump has shown concerns more than once about the United States claiming Greenland and doing so is significant to United States national security because of foreign military presence in the High North, according to the president. According to reporting on the recent statements made by Trump, he stated that Washington has the right to do what they like or not.
The location of Greenland in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its strategic location between North America and Europe has put the island at the center of the overall debate over alliances. NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich informs a defence assembly that the allies are debating the status of Greenland, but the main threat to NATO territory is in the offing.
International Reactions
Various governments of Europe have come out openly opposing U.S. claims against Denmark and Greenland. Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson denounced what he anticipated as threatening rhetoric by Washington and reported that Nordic, Baltic and other European nations supported Denmark. He claimed that a U.S. acquisition of Greenland would be against international law and cause a dangerous precedent.
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken appealed to NATO to start a special operation of Arctic security in order to share common worries about the area and to strengthen the unity of the alliance. Francken introduced a framework of Arctic Sentry based on the current operations of NATO that applies joint forces, drones, and surveillance capabilities.
The position of the United States that the Chinese and Russian navalists are present around Greenland is also denied by Nordic diplomats. Authorities in Norway and other Nordic countries claimed that there is no data to back up those claims, but the military action by Russia and China in the expanded arctic area continues to provide some uneasiness to certain allies.
The United Kingdom is talking about extending its cooperation with NATO regarding Arctic security. British officials have maintained that the talks are a standard strategy of maintaining influence against Russian and Chinese influence and independent of U.S. offers to purchase Greenland. London and Copenhagen are interested in discouraging foreign interference in the Arctic and even discussed closer bilateral military co-operation.
Greenland and Her Positiveness and Local Feeling.
Greenland is a self-ruling region within the Kingdom of Denmark. The opinion and views of the leaders in Greenland are greatly against the idea of ceding power to the United States.
According to the recent polls, most of the people of Greenland oppose the idea to become a part of the United States, and the local leaders cite the point that the future of the island should be chosen by the locals.
According to a recent suggestion by a Greenlandic opposition party leader, Reykjavik might seek direct negotiations with Washington on defence relations unaffiliated with Denmark but the Danish government has claimed that such bilateral negotiations will contravene the existing laws.
Strategic and Economic Investment.
The strategic significance of Greenland may be traced back to the fact that Greenland is located at major North Atlantic and Arctic sea routes and is a part of early-warning defence networks binding North America and Europe. The U.S. military facilities on the island are accompanied by long-standing cooperation agreements and occur in the framework of bigger plans of defence of the arctic.
It has also a large presence of mineral deposits with iron ore, graphite, zinc and rare earth elements that are relevant to both high-technology and defence supply chains. According to scientists and economic analysts, climate change is rendering some of these resources more available, and this may enhance the competition in the world in accessing the critical minerals of Greenland.
Diplomatic Outlook
The leaders of Denmark, Greenland and NATO allies will meet in Washington this week and deliberate on the cooperation of Arctic security, as well as competition in relation to the natural resources. European and Danish leaders have indicated that they wish to strike a balance between alliance cooperation and awareness of autonomy of Greenland and international law.