Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

The "greatest polar bear hunter of Greenland" Hjelmer Hammeken rides his dogs sled to look for seals on the sea ice outside Ittoqqortoormiit, on the frozen Scoresbysund Fjord on April 28, 2024. The village of Ittoqqortoormitt, with its colorful houses and 350 inhabitants, is located near the Strait of Scoresby, the world's largest fjord on the east coast of Greenland, on the edge of the Arctic. Olivier Morin/AFP/File

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Greenland

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17364216240641718604484143Screen Shot 2024-06-17 at 2.07.46 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The &quot;greatest polar bear hunter of Greenland&quot; Hjelmer Hammeken rides his dogs sled to look for seals on the sea ice outside Ittoqqortoormiit, on the frozen Scoresbysund Fjord on April 28, 2024. The village of Ittoqqortoormitt, with its colorful houses and 350 inhabitants, is located near the Strait of Scoresby, the world&#x27;s largest fjord on the east coast of Greenland, on the edge of the Arctic. Olivier Morin/AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The &quot;greatest polar bear hunter of Greenland&quot; Hjelmer Hammeken rides his dogs sled to look for seals on the sea ice outside Ittoqqortoormiit, on the frozen Scoresbysund Fjord on April 28, 2024. The village of Ittoqqortoormitt, with its colorful houses and 350 inhabitants, is located near the Strait of Scoresby, the world&#x27;s largest fjord on the east coast of Greenland, on the edge of the Arctic. <em>Olivier Morin/AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Greenland, which US President-elect wants to annex, is a self-governing Danish territory covered in ice, with untapped mineral resources — and geostrategic importance.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/8/-uneasy-europe-warns-trump-over-greenland-ambitions-0550">&#x27;Uneasy&#x27; Europe warns Trump over Greenland ambitions</a></div><p>In December, Trump said control of the Arctic island was &quot;an absolute necessity&quot; for &quot;purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World.&quot;</p><p>But the Republican, who takes office on January 20, set off new alarm bells this week when he refused to rule out a military intervention, sparking astonishment in Copenhagen, Greenland&#x27;s capital Nuuk and across Europe.</p><p>Denmark, though, has said it is &quot;open to a dialogue&quot; with Washington to ensure US interests are safeguarded at a time when rivalries with China and Russia in the Arctic are growing.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/18/24/greenland-has-lost-more-ice-than-previously-thought-study">Greenland has lost more ice than previously thought: study</a></div><p>Despite its autonomy, Greenland is dependent on Copenhagen for law enforcement, monetary policy, foreign affairs, defense and security policy.</p><p>However, with its capital closer to New York than Copenhagen, Greenland is in the United States&#x27; &quot;zone of interest&quot;, historian Astrid Andersen, of the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP.</p><p>&quot;During the war — while Denmark was occupied by Germany — the US took over Greenland. In a sense they have never left,&quot; she explained.</p><p>The United States still has an active military base in the northwest of the territory and Greenland provides the shortest trajectory for launching any missiles towards Russia.</p><p>Political scientist Ulrik Pram Gad, also of the Danish Institute of International Studies, said the United States has &quot;legitimate complaints about the lack of surveillance of the airspace and submarine areas east of Greenland&quot;.</p><p>When new shipping lanes are freed up due to melting ice the problem is legitimate but Pram Gad believes Trump is using &quot;exaggerated terms.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/22/19/why-donald-trump-wants-to-buy-greenland-for-us">Why Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland for US</a></div><p>During his first term in office, Trump floated the idea in 2019 that he wanted to buy the territory, which was rebuffed.</p><div><strong>POTENTIAL MINING SECTOR</strong></div><p>Experts are still perplexed at what the incoming presidential administration is actually planning.</p><p>&quot;We are still in the waiting room when it comes to knowing exactly what the Trump administration means,&quot; said Lill Rastad Bjorst, an associate professor at Aalborg University specializing in Greenland.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/7/trump-criticizes-late-president-jimmy-carter-over-panama-deal-0657">Trump criticizes late president Jimmy Carter over Panama deal</a></div><p>Since 2009, Greenlanders have been in charge of deciding how their natural resources are used.</p><p>Access to Greenland&#x27;s mineral resources is considered crucial by the United States, which signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector in 2019.</p><p>The EU followed suit four years later with its own agreement.</p><p>Greenland&#x27;s soil is well explored, which has enabled a detailed map of resources to be drawn up.</p><p>The EU has identified 25 of the 34 minerals on its official list of critical raw materials in Greenland, including rare earth minerals.</p><p>&quot;As the demand for minerals is rising, there is a need to go and look for untapped resources,&quot; said Ditte Brasso Sorensen, an analyst at Think Tank Europa.</p><p>&quot;Actors are more and more aware they need to diversify their sources, especially when it comes to the dependence to China on rare earth elements.&quot;</p><p>Adding to this is the fear that China will get its hands on the mineral resources, she explained.</p><p>Yet the mining sector in Greenland is currently largely non-existent.</p><p>There are only two mines on the island — one for rubies, which is looking for new investors, and the other for anorthosite, a rock containing titanium.</p><div><strong>FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT</strong></div><p>Economically, the country, which is seeking to emancipate itself from Denmark, depends on a subsidy from Copenhagen — which accounts for a fifth of its GDP — and on fishing.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/17/19/greenland-tells-trump-it-is-open-for-business-but-not-for-sale">Greenland tells Trump it is open for business but not for sale</a></div><p>Hopes are in part pinned on the opening of an international airport in Nuuk in November to help to develop tourism in the Arctic region.</p><p>Infrastructure is also a key issue for the development of the mining industry.</p><p>&quot;When it comes to extractive industries, Trump is putting Greenland on the mining map in discourse but it&#x27;s hard to say how it could evolve as there is a lack of investors,&quot; Rastad Bjorst noted.</p><p>Sorensen also stressed that inherent difficulties of such endeavors in Greenland with its &quot;very harsh weather conditions, a protected environment and lots of costs with the need to develop the physical and digital infrastructure&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The untested regulatory system also adds to the uncertainties,&quot; she said.</p><p>Public opposition to uranium mining in southern Greenland prompted legislation banning the extraction of radioactive products.</p><p>Another potential resource to be exploited is oil but it is currently at a standstill.</p><div><strong>—By Camille Bas-Wohlert, Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z7HbGhDycyA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>With its capital closer to New York than Copenhagen, Greenland is in the United States' "zone of interest", historian Astrid Anderse told AFP.</p>

With its capital closer to New York than Copenhagen, Greenland is in the United States' "zone of interest", historian Astrid Anderse told AFP.

Why is Trump interested in Greenland?

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Why is Trump interested in Greenland?

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 09, 2025 07:35 PM PHT

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