The U.S. has had designs on Greenland dating back to 1867 but perhaps those desires have never been as publicly spelled out as they have been by current President Donald Trump.
CGTN’s correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd is the Greenland capital Nuuk
CGTN’s correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd is the Greenland capital Nuuk
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00:00Since the 19th century, the United States government has planned and made several attempts to try and buy Greenland from Denmark.
00:08For instance, it showed that it wanted to acquire Greenland in 1867, in 1910, 1946, 1955, and later in 2019 and 2025.
00:23Two American Secretary of States have had internal discussions to talk about buying Greenland when it was a colony within the Kingdom of Denmark.
00:32Now, it's an autonomous, self-governing part of the Commonwealth of Denmark, which includes the Faroe Islands and the North Sea.
00:40After World War II, the U.S. offered to buy Greenland secretly because they viewed it as vital for national security, just like these days.
00:50During the war, the U.S. invoked its Monroe Doctrine and occupied Greenland to try and prevent German presence here because they'd already invaded and occupied Denmark.
01:00Now, the U.S. military stayed until 1948. A year later, Denmark and the United States joined NATO.
01:08And since 1951, the Americans have had a base in the north of Greenland.
01:13Now, it's President Trump who said that he wants to buy the island.
01:17And, controversially, he has refused to rule out military action or economic tariffs in order to do that.
01:25Greenland and the Danish government have said this island is not for sale.
01:30But the Trump administration is still hugely interested in trying to control this area of the Arctic, the sea and the island itself.
01:40And probably and possibly want to invest in mining in the future, especially with so many rare earth minerals believed to be here.
01:49And that will take a lot of work and a lot of money sometime in the future.