President-elect Donald Trump's statement on Greenland has been met with surprise by Danes who say his insistence on control of the island shows a lack of respect for the alliance between Denmark and the United States. However, the largest island in the world is a place of geopolitical importance, which not only the United States but also others have wanted to control for over 150 years. The island's value increases as the Arctic opens up more and more to shipping and trade. There are extremely large amounts of oil and gas as well as some rare minerals that are currently supplied mainly by China.
What makes Greenland important is its geographical position as it lies in the Arctic between the United States, Russia and Europe.
As Ohio State University security and environmental professor Geoff Dabelko explains, the world's largest island is now "central to geopolitical and geoeconomic competition in many ways," in part because of climate change.
The island, which has 80 percent of its territory covered in ice, is a region where the weather is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, according to New York University environmental scientist David Holland. Rising temperatures and melting ice are creating the opportunity to exploit Greenland's extremely rich soil.
There are valuable and rare minerals needed for the telecommunications industry. Many of these minerals are mainly supplied by China.
There is uranium there, but also a large amount of oil and natural gas that was once inaccessible, but now the chances of getting it have increased.
Residents of the Danish capital Copenhagen reacted with surprise on Wednesday after US President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to take control of the Arctic island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
"It's a strange thing to threaten allied countries and I honestly don't understand what he's doing," said Danish pensioner Brigitte Jakobsen.
"I find it extremely funny. If you want something from Greenland, it does not respect the fact that we are allied countries", says Jeppe Finne Sorenson, a resident of Copenhagen.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not ruled out using military force or economic action to take control of Greenland.
"We need Greenland for reasons of national security. I've been told this for a long time, long before I ran for president. People really don't know if Denmark has any legal rights over the island. But if they have, they should quit because it's about our national security and for the good of the free world. There are Chinese ships, Russian ships, and we will not allow this to continue," said President-elect Trump, among other things.
His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., paid a private visit to the resource-rich island on Tuesday that has some of the oldest rocks on Earth.
"I am not worried. He says things like that and we have to stay strong and not be too affected by what he says, just try to ignore him," says fellow Copenhagen resident Brian Kristensen.
In 2019, President Trump canceled a planned visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected his idea of Washington buying Greenland.
"It's never entirely clear what Trump means. He can be serious now. The last time, eight years ago, when he said something similar we all thought it was funny. He seems serious now, maybe he's just trying to pressure us into something by using Greenland," says Copenhagen resident Jeppe Sorenson.
Greenland, with a population of 57,000, has been part of Denmark for 600 years. The island is now self-governing as a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish kingdom. (For WEB) Greenland's relations with Denmark have recently been strained due to allegations of mistreatment of the islanders under colonial rule.
The United States and other countries have expressed a desire to control Greenland for over 150 years. The island's value increases as the Arctic opens up more and more to shipping and trade./Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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