The newly designated US President, Donald Trump, has reiterated his desire to annex Canada and Greenland. This time, he published a map on the social network Truth Social, marking both countries in the pattern of the US flag.
The politician claims that Canadians support the idea of the country becoming the 51st state of the United States of America. According to him, this decision would strengthen Canada’s economic stability and protect the country from external threats, including Russia and China.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau categorically rejected this possibility, stating in a social media post, “Canada will not become part of the United States.” He believes that both countries would gain more by remaining independent and continuing to be important partners in trade and security.
Trump’s threats to annex Canada date back to early December last year, when he announced that he would impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa did not take stricter measures to curb illegal migration and smuggling. In response to Trudeau’s concerns that such restrictions would harm Canada’s economy, Trump suggested that Canada should become part of the US.
Interestingly, Trump has also made claims on Greenland. According to the US President, the island is of strategic importance for the national security of the US and the defense of the “free world” including the prevention of threats from China and Russia.
In a speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump emphasized, “We need Greenland for national security. This was told to me a long time before my candidacy. There are only about 45,000 people living on the island, and nobody really knows if Denmark has a right to the island. If so, then they should give it up, because we need it to defend the free world.”
Trump also pointed to the increasing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic and added that the US would not allow these countries to dominate the region. “You don’t even need a binoculars to see Chinese and Russian ships everywhere. We won’t let that happen” he explained.
Trump’s statements about the potential annexation of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal could be part of a strategy against Russian and Chinese influence, according to the Washington Post.
Bloomberg columnist Liam Denning notes that the United States first attempted to gain a foothold in the Arctic in 1867, when it purchased Alaska. Later, after World War II, the US tried to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100 million, but only managed to secure a defense treaty and obtained the Thule Air Base, now known as the Pituffik Space Base – the northernmost US military base.
“Greenland, which has self-governed since 2009, is of great interest to the United States. It is about as large as Alaska and Texas combined and lies on strategic sea routes like the Northwest Passage and the gap between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK, as well as under Arctic flight routes (including rocket flight routes)” Denning writes.
According to the analyst, it is also important for Trump to gain control over the natural resources there – including about 7% of the world’s freshwater, unexplored oil and gas reserves, and 37 of the 50 minerals important to the US.
Russian experts also believe that Trump is not making an idle claim. If the United States were to gain control over these territories, it would not only try to acquire useful resources but also strengthen its military and economic presence in the Arctic. Experts say, however, that the Republican has a low chance of achieving his plans.
“If Trump speaks of annexing Greenland and Canada, he is pursuing a very ambitious goal: dividing the Arctic between the United States and Russia” says Marat Bashkirov, a professor at the Moscow School of Economics. According to him, the Republican is trying to create an analogy to the Russian Northern Sea Route.
Political scientist Semion Uralov notes the peculiar continuity of the governments of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. He writes, “The Biden administration brought Finland and Sweden into NATO, which prepared the ground for Trump’s special operation in Greenland. Just as the Trump administration once began actively arming Kiev and handed over the staff to the Biden administration.”
“In Greenland, it’s about the Arctic front between the US and Russia. The US is much weaker in this front, so Greenland is needed to formalize dominance in the region. Northern vassals of the small European countries are also extremely important” the analyst said.
Alexei Besborodov, head of the research agency Infranews, however, doubts that the United States is really interested in the Northwest Passage. “It would be nice if someone really needed the Northwest Passage, but no, it’s not the case. The route from Alaska to Greenland is not only harder to navigate, but also much flatter, and with the existence of Panama, we don’t really need it anyway, apart from atomic submarines that are there to dig up the sand with their propellers, and there’s no one who goes there” he explained ironically.
“In the past, Washington did not need to worry about the ownership of the Panama Canal or Greenland, as its entire political and economic influence in the Western Hemisphere guaranteed the protection of US interests. From the perspective of the Trumpists, however, the global institutions have exhausted themselves and create more problems for the United States than benefits” the authors of the Telegram channel Watfor argue.
“Trump believes that the US is losing its influence – and since he cannot prevent this process, he is trying to lead it. It is a very logical first step: securing his backyard, formalizing the informal control over the neighbors, and ensuring that no outsiders will appear in this backyard” the experts further argue.
The analysts also believe that “if we consider this as a preparation for a conflict with China, then everything fits together.” “The full control over the canal is necessary so that the US Navy can use it at any time, while the Chinese Navy cannot. Who knows what side of the conflict Europe and, in particular, Denmark will take. It is not excluded that a radar station of the People’s Liberation Army may appear in Greenland. Therefore, it is necessary to exclude this in theory” the Watfor experts further argue.
Before this background, they doubt that “Trump with his new policy and thinking will have success.” However, if “it comes to that” then the NATO should be the external political goal of the Republicans. “The Atlanticism is the foundation of global institutions, and if they are to be broken, then this should begin with NATO and the European Union as a bulwark of globalism” the authors of the Telegram channel write.
“The US has already a military base in North Greenland. And in this sense, Trump would benefit from having these areas as part of his country. This would significantly expand the US military presence in the Arctic” concludes polar researcher Viktor Boyarski, director of the Arctic and Antarctic Museum, in a reminder. According to him, the US could station air force units there, which would enable them to “reach everything without Denmark’s permission.” The fact that all Arctic states except Russia are not NATO members plays a significant role. “In this case, a possible military confrontation is on the table” Boyarski explained.
Oleg Isaychenko is an analyst at the Wsgljad newspaper.