1. Recently, Mr. Donald Trump had declared his intention to acquire Greenland by means of a purchase, “essentially as a real estate deal”. Considering that in the past the US had aquired nearly 41% of its land territory (past purchases of Louisiana and Alaska),this is nothing unusual for USA and it's territorial expansion through purchase. The Danish Prime Minister declared that Greenland is not for sale. The Danish government recognises Greenland as a self-governing autonomous territory, subsisting politically as a constituent state of Denmark. Recently the Greenlanders have decided that they would rather exist as an independent sovereign nation than being part of the United States or Denmark.Between these two countries, the greenlanders have declared now that they would rather be part of denmark than becoming a strategic territory of USA.
2. The desire of the United States to assimilate Greenland stems from the following reasons:
a) Greenland is connected to the North American continent, and the US is much closer to inhabited Greenland than to Europe.
b) The US had occupied parts of Greenland soon after the Second World War and continues to hold these occupied territories for having military bases and naval facilities in Greeenland,infact they are quite free to construct further facilities as deemd fit by US andd NATO.
c) Greenland receives substantial part of its public revenues (50% of its total budget) from Denmark. Neither Denmark nor Greenland have either the population or economic might to defend Greenland in case of an act of aggression either from China ,Russia or the USA.
d) As of 2020, the Denmark Arctic Command had just four ships, four helicopters, one maritime patrol aircraft, and six dog-sled teams to defend Greenland. The United States insisted that Denmark should increase its military presence in Greenland. Denmark reluctantly agreed to deploy more personnel, patrol ships, long-range drones, and upgrade an airport to handle Danish F-35 fighter aircraft. Germany and few other European nations have committed to deploy more military personal in Greenland. As the first installments ,these 4 countries have deputed 39 more soldiers to study the security situation there .However, even the increased military presence will not be able to seriously defend Greenland territory should there be an armed attack.
e) Considering the mineral resources of Greenland and the possibility of opening the Northern Sea Lanes (Northern Sea Route (NSR), Northeast Passage (NEP), Northwest Passage (NWP), Transpolar Sea Route (TSR))getting navigable during summer, and the further chances of commercial extraction of these ores becoming commercial reality, China wanted to fund two airports in Greenland. However, since it was not liked either by Europe nor by the USA, Denmark reluctantly agreed to fund these two airports. Denmark itself does not have a great population to hold Greenland because it just has a local population of 5.97 million.Further, Greenland has a resident population of 60,000 inhabitants with the lowest population density in the world is not an attractive economic market , hence, Foreign Institutional Investors are not interested to invest in Greenland.f) For the record, Greenland, though not a member of the European Economic Community, is a signatory to NATO. Mr. Alex Grey, the Chief of Staff in the United States National Security Council, remarked: “Denmark don’t have the ability to defend Greenland. Denmark’s active-duty military is smaller than the New York Police Department.” Way back in 1951, the Denmark–Greenland Defence Agreement allowed the US to keep its military bases in Greenland and establish new bases if deemed necessary by NATO. The US undertook not to infringe Danish sovereignty in Greenland, even though the US was empowered to exercise permanent jurisdiction in the defence areas of Thule, Sondrestrom, and Narsarsuaq. However, the US cannot increase its military presence without consent from Denmark and Greenland.
g) Denmark has a very close connection with Greenland. Every year it subsidises Greenland with 5.6 billion Danish kroners annually. It receives 55% of the island’s exports and provides 63% of Greenland’s imports. The only industry in Greenland is fishing. Greenland covers an area of 2.2 million sq. km and has vast natural resources such as uranium, rare earth minerals, and 50 billion barrels of offshore oil and gas. Yet Greenland has only one operating mine and has little infrastructure. It has one international airport and no roads to connect its 17 towns. 40 % of the Greenlanders work for the government. The population’s per-capita disposable income is the lowest among Arctic NATO members. Danish investors have little presence in Greenland, although one-fifth of the Greenlanders live in Denmark.
3. PAST EFFORTS BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
i. In 1867, Mr. William Seward, who negotiated the Alaska purchase from the Russian Empire, came up with the proposal to purchase Greenland as well. Such a purchase would allow the US access to a large number of fish, grain, and minerals. However, nothing much came out of the proposal because at that time Greenland was even more uninhabitable than what it is now. In fact, he even made an offer to pay USD 5.5 million in gold. The US Congress would not approve the purchase and this proposal was shelved.
ii. Treaty of Danish West Indies(1917) – Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States, which was renamed as the United States Virgin Islands. By this treaty, the US acknowledged Danish sovereignty over the entire Greenland. During the same time, John Douglas had proposed that the British Empire should buy Greenland for Canada and that the British Empire should obtain a right of first refusal should Denmark decide to transfer Greenland to any intending purchaser.However,this offer was not followed to its logical conclusion.
iii. In fact, the Lansing Declaration and the Treaty of Danish West Indies constituted an exception to the Monroe Doctrine (1823), which declared that the entire American continent should be recognised as the dominant sphere of influence by the United States of America. Thereafter, Denmark formally declared sovereignty over the entire Greenland. Norwegian claims over Erik the Red’s Land were rejected by the PCIJ[Legal Status of Eastern Greenland (Den. v. Nor.), Judgment, 1933 P.C.I.J. (ser. A/B) No. 53 (Apr. 5).] after finding that the territory was formally transferred to Denmark in 1814.During the Second World War, Denmark was invaded by German forces. During this time, the US occupied the Dutch, Danish, and French possessions in the Western Hemisphere.
4. In 1946, the US government offered Denmark 100 million dollars (~$1.66 billion in today’s value) in gold bullion. This offer was formally communicated by the then Secretary of State, Mr. J. F. Byrnes.
Denmark also had its own colonial history. However, it was not a very successful Imperialist Power like Spain, Portugal, England, France, or Belgium. In fact, in the past, Denmark had a history of selling its colonial territories to foreign powers. For example, the Indian settlements located in Tranquebar, Serampore, and the Nicobar Islands were sold to Britain in 1845. Again, in 1850, Denmark sold the Gold Coast colony, located in West Africa, to Britain. Besides this, in 1917, Denmark sold its Danish West Indies, comprising the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, to the United States. Hence, it is not entirely unusual when Donald Trump wanted to buy Greenland from Denmark in what he described as a "clean Real Estate deal." Denmark today is one of the progressive Western states where the government has been able to ensure that no one is really poor or a victim of poverty. Social security in Denmark and Greenland is very high, By and large, women enjoy a status comparable to men. Denmark is an important member of the European Economic Community.Today,Denmark has grown into a very progressive welfare state having liberal values.
5. The Prime Minister of Denmark has recently declared that Greenland is not for sale. It is well known that China has started efforts to establish an economic presence in Greenland. For this purpose, a company was incorporated in Australia. This Australian company started making inroads into the rare earth mining industry in Greenland. The company has substantially owned by Chinese Investors. However, this was not appreciated by both the European Economic Community and the United States of America.
6. Hence, the USA revived its 1941 offer to purchase Greenland from Denmark. What startled the rest of the world was that the US also indicated that if Denmark refused to sell Greenland to the United States, then the United States might even consider using military force to accomplish this objective. Very recently, the citizens of Greenland declared that they would rather stay with Denmark than with the United States of America. First of all, Greenland originally belonged to the Innuits. Subsequently, the Vikings tried to colonize Greenland; However, their efforts were not very successful. Later, Greenland became part of Sweden. When Sweden and Norway separated, Greenland was allotted to Norway. Later, in 1817, Norway surrendered sovereignty over Greenland to Denmark.Hence,as now, the claim of USA that Denmark’s title to Green land is dubious is not in accordance with International Law.
7. Hence, under international law, Greenland is an autonomous, self-governing territory under the political patronage of the Danish state. Greenland belongs to Denmark. Therefore, if the United States wants to acquire Greenland, the consent of Denmark is absolutely essential. After the establishment of the United Nations, the use of force or the threat to use military force is no longer legal under international law. If changes to borders are brought about by employing military force, the rest of the nations of the world will not recognize such changes. War is no longer an instrument of national policy. This principle has evolved into what may be described as an International Jus Cogens Doctrine.
8. Hence, Mr. Trump, despite all his bravado and big talk, cannot legally annex Greenland as part of the mainland United States of America by employing force. In fact, the entire European Economic Community, with the exception of a very few nations, has stood solidly behind Denmark.However, Denmark cannot reasonably hope to hold Greenland indefinitely. Denmark is not deriving any serious advantage from its ownership of Greenland. Every year, Denmark spends nearly 600 million dollars to maintain Greenland as a self-governing territory. From an economic standpoint, it may make more sense for Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States of America.
9. It is not unusual for owners of property to declare that their property is not for sale. Such declarations often serve the purpose of demanding a premium over the prevailing market price when negotiations eventually take place. Hence, in my opinion, considering the fact that both China and Russia have strategic interests in the region, and also considering that Greenland itself lacks the economic and military capacity to defend itself in the event of an armed attack, the sale of Greenland to the United States of America cannot be ruled out in the near future. The question is not whether this will happen, but when it will happen.
10. Let us assume that such an eventuality is inevitable in international relations. If that becomes the case, it would make more sense for the parties to negotiate the price sooner rather than later. In the past, when territories were sold, the consideration received was treated as the property of the transferring state. The money went into the Consolidated Fund of the transferring state, and the state decided, in its wisdom, how it would be utilized. There is no known precedent where a State, after selling its territory, has distributed dividends directly to its citizens. In the twenty-first century, however, most states have declared themselves to be Welfare States. By contemporary standards Denmark undoubtedly qualifies as a Welfare State. It is progressive, reasonably rich, ranks high on the Global Happiness Index, and enjoys an enviable status in the Family of Nations.
11. Therefore, if Denmark were to decide to sell Greenland and fix the purchase price—let us assume 170 billion dollars (as reportedly offered by USA)—a pertinent question arises. Should Denmark distribute a portion of this amount not only to the citizens of Greenland but also to the citizens of mainland Denmark? For several years, taxpayers in mainland Denmark have subsidized the cost of governance in Greenland. If Greenland is sold to the United States of America for a substantial sum, should that amount(atleast a part of it ) be distributed among the inhabitants of Greenland as well as the citizens of mainland Denmark?This again is a trillon dollar question!!!Considering that Mr. Donald Trump had declared July 2026 as the deadline for the conclusion of negotiations, there will not be a long wait. If there is a Referendum in Greenland and Denmark regarding the transfer of the territory, and if the USA promises USD 500,000 to each Greenlander and another USD 100,000 to each Danish citizen, it is very likely that there will be a “yes” vote in the proposed Referendum.
Even after paying this compensation, Denmark can add one more economic cushion to its already wealthy consolidated pension funds.
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