US must ‘own’ Greenland to counter Russia, China — Trump

US President, Donald Trump, has said the United States needs to “own” Greenland to prevent Russia and China from gaining control of the territory.

Trump told reporters on Friday, “Countries have to have ownership, and you defend ownership, you don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland.”

He added the US would act “the easy way” or “the hard way” if necessary. The White House has said the administration is considering buying the semi-autonomous territory from Denmark, but has not ruled out other options.

Denmark and Greenland have rejected the idea that the territory is for sale. Denmark has warned that military action would threaten the trans-Atlantic defence alliance.

It could be the hard way — Trump threatens military action to seize Greenland

In a joint statement on Friday night, Greenland’s party leaders reaffirmed their call for the US to end what they described as disregard for their country. “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” they said. “The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it strategic for early warning systems and monitoring vessels in the region.

Trump has said Greenland is vital to US national security, claiming without evidence that it is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”

The US already has more than 100 military personnel at its Pituffik base in northwest Greenland, a facility operated by the US since World War Two under agreements with Denmark.

Under those agreements, the US can station additional troops in Greenland if it chooses.

But Trump said lease arrangements alone are not enough. “Countries can’t make nine-year deals or even 100-year deals,” he said. “You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases.”

“I love the people of China. I love the people of Russia,” Trump added. “But I don’t want them as a neighbour in Greenland, not going to happen.”

He also said NATO “has to understand” the US stance.

Denmark’s NATO allies, including major European countries and Canada, issued a joint statement this week saying that Greenland and Denmark alone should decide on their relations and stressing the importance of upholding the UN Charter’s principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

(BBC)