US President-elect Donald Trump's claims on Greenland signal that his administration will not shy away from stoking great power competition, despite campaigning on the promise of economic and military rebuilding at home, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told Sputnik.
"Far from pointing to an effort to 'Make America Great Again' by rebuilding our own country that has been exhausted by the quest for global empire, the focus will still be on tearing down others' constructive efforts to build themselves up. This means more Great Power competition, not less," Jatras said.
Trump, who is due to assume office on January 20, has called it "an absolute necessity" for the US to own Greenland. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede responded that the island was not for sale.
Jatras suggested looking at Trump’s remarks on Greenland in the context of his other similar remarks about Canada, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and threatening to impose 100% tariffs on goods from BRICS countries.
"Far from signaling a retreat from empire, which would entail conceding spheres to other powers, notably Russia and China, Trump is likely to open new fronts for competition, notably in the Arctic, where he will seek to impede the Northern Sea Route," Jatras said.
The expert called "absurd" Trump’s idea that the US needs Greenland because of rare earth resources.
"We have rare earths inside the US now, but we haven't exploited them fully because it's expensive and environmentally hazardous. It's been cheaper and cleaner for us to buy them from China," he added.
Jatras expressed confidence that making a deal with Greenland and Denmark would be easier and cheaper for the US than trying to force them.
Greenland was a colony of Denmark until 1953. It remains part of the kingdom, but in 2009, it received autonomy with the ability to self-govern and make independent choices in domestic policy.
Sputnik