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BARCELONA, Spain, Apr 01 (IPS) – “…I’m satisfied that Greenland’s significance to U.S. pursuits will develop. Because of geography, historic ties (…), america has the within monitor when competing for affect in Greenland (even because the Chinese language have now began making common visits)…” This quote from a diplomatic cable despatched by the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen to Washington might sound latest, maybe simply earlier than President Trump’s abrupt announcement of his intentions to “purchase” or “annex” Greenland from Denmark, however that isn’t the case.
This message is definitely seventeen years outdated, courting again to Could 16, 2008. It’s certainly one of a number of Greenland-related cables that got here to mild with WikiLeaks, highlighting the truth that U.S. curiosity in Greenland is nothing new. It has been a constant theme in U.S. international coverage for at the least the final 150 years.
The primary documented dialogue throughout the U.S. Authorities about buying Greenland dates again to 1867, the identical 12 months the U.S. bought Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.7M.
Round that point, inside consultations occurred within the U.S. Federal Authorities relating to the potential of shopping for Greenland (together with Iceland) for round $5.5M. Actually, the State Division even printed a report on the matter in 1868. Nevertheless, as we all know, this proposal by no means materialized.
Extra fruitless discussions adopted in 1910, after which, out of the blue, one other buy occurred in 1916. This time, the U.S. authorities purchased not Greenland however the Danish West Indies within the Caribbean (now often known as the U.S. Virgin Islands) from Denmark for $25M.
The relevance of this buy within the Greenland case is substantive as a result of one provision within the worldwide treaty that formalized the deal—often known as the Treaty of the Danish West Indies—acknowledged that the U.S. Authorities “is not going to object to the Danish Authorities extending their political and financial pursuits to the entire of Greenland.”
As a result of in 1916 Denmark managed important parts of Greenland however not your complete island. Nevertheless, following the West Indies cope with the U.S., and with Washington’s consent, Denmark started a sequence of diplomatic actions that ultimately allowed it to declare full sovereignty over all of Greenland. Solely Norway contested this declare however misplaced within the Worldwide Court docket of Justice in 1933.
In April 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Denmark, and following that, the U.S. occupied Greenland, in an effort to forestall its seizure by Germany or ultimately by Canada and even by the UK.
After WWII, the Danish authorities anticipated the U.S. to withdraw its troops. Nevertheless, to their shock, in 1946, the U.S. made a brand new proposal to buy Greenland, this time providing $100M. As soon as once more, the deal didn’t undergo, and regardless of Copenhagen’s diplomatic efforts, the U.S. navy stayed.
With the creation of NATO—and Denmark being certainly one of its founding members—Copenhagen modified its coverage, accepting the established order. In 1951, Denmark signed an settlement permitting the U.S. to proceed its navy and protection actions in Greenland. In 1955, new critical discussions throughout the U.S. authorities about one other potential supply emerged, and there may be proof that Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was behind one other unsuccessful try in 1970.
With the tip of the Chilly Battle, U.S. curiosity in Greenland dramatically decreased, and most U.S. navy bases on the island had been dismantled, aside from the one in Pituffik (then recognized by the Danish title of Thule).
With the beginning of the brand new millennium, the growing results of local weather change and the escalation of geostrategic curiosity within the Arctic area, Washington reactivated its curiosity within the largest island on the planet.
Nevertheless, this time moderately than proposing one other buy to Denmark—after so many failed makes an attempt—the U.S. opted for a extra delicate coverage, not directly supporting Greenland’s pro-independence motion. The thought was {that a} newly unbiased and probably weak Greenland may very well be extra simply influenced by the U.S.
The shock got here in 2019 when President Trump reignited public debate on the problem and even cancelled an official journey to Copenhagen on the final minute after the Danish Prime Minister publicly rejected the potential of promoting Greenland.
With Biden in workplace, the problem was largely forgotten—till not too long ago, when Trump introduced it again, adopting an much more aggressive method. It’s no coincidence, then, that the U.S. opened a Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, in 2020, regardless of the nation’s small inhabitants of round 50,000 individuals and a negligible variety of U.S. residents, except for the few U.S. navy personnel stationed at Pituffik.
The important thing questions listed here are: after so many failed makes an attempt by the U.S. to buy Greenland over the previous 150 years, what makes Trump consider that he’ll succeed? Is the present White Home coverage—so aggressive and public—actually one of the best ways for the U.S. to regain affect, and even safe a brand new function in Greenland? Might this method, actually, jeopardize U.S. pursuits within the area in the long run? And final however not least, past the Danish Authorities, the Greenlanders might have one thing to say, and judging by the outcomes of the latest elections, it appears they don’t seem to be actually within the temper to just accept Trump’s expansionism.
Manuel Manonelles is Affiliate Professor of Worldwide Relations at Blanquerna-Ramon Llull College in Spain
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