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Greenland isn't for sale but it is increasingly valuable
By Paul HANDLEY, Francesco FONTEMAGGI
Washington (AFP) Aug 17, 2019

Greenland cold-shoulders Trump's reported buyer's wish
Stockholm (AFP) Aug 16, 2019 - Greenland is not for sale, the mineral-rich island said Friday, after a newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump was asking advisers whether it's possible for the United States to buy the Arctic island.

Trump has expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark -- which is mostly covered in ice, -- asking advisors if it is possible for the US to acquire the territory, The Wall Street Journal said Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The president, a former real estate maqnate, has been curious about the area's natural resources and geopolitical relevance, the paper reported.

Greenland is a self-governing region of Denmark, which colonised the 772,000 square-mile (two-million square kilometre) island in the 18th century, and is home to only about 57,000 people, most of whom belong to the indigenous Inuit community.

There has been no official comment from the White House, and the Danish embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

But Greenland's ministry of foreign affairs insisted the island was ready to talk business, not purchase.

"#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism," it tweeted.

"We're open for business, not for sale," it added.

The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

But a former premier, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, tweeted: "It must be an April Fool's Day joke... but totally out of season!"

Some Trump advisors say acquiring Greenland, which is northeast of Canada, could be good for the US, while others called it only a "fleeting fascination" from the president, The Wall Street Journal said.

Others outside the White House say Trump's interest could be a desire to secure a legacy achievement, the paper reported, and advisors wondered about the potential for research or greater military clout for the US.

- World's largest island -

The US's northern-most military base, Thule Air Base, has been located on Greenland for decades.

But Greenland doesn't quite live up to its lush name -- 85 percent of the island is covered by a 1.9-mile-thick (three-kilometre) ice sheet that contains 10 percent of the world's fresh water.

The world's largest island has suffered from climate change, scientists say, becoming a giant melting icicle that threatens to submerge the world's coastal areas one day.

July saw unprecedented melting of the Greenland ice sheet, with 12 billion tonnes of ice flowing into the sea.

Trump, who in 2017 withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement to cap global warming levels, is reportedly set to visit Copenhagen in September.

This isn't the first time the president has expressed interest in foreign properties -- he has said North Korea's "great beaches" would make ideal locations for condos.

President Donald Trump's reported wish to buy Greenland may have been rejected by Denmark, but it underscores the rapidly rising value of the massive, ice-covered island due to global warming and to China's drive for an Arctic presence.

The accelerating polar ice melt has left sparsely populated Greenland, a self-governing part of Denmark, astride what are potentially major shipping routes and in the crosshairs of intensifying geopolitical competition between superpowers.

It also has untapped natural resources like oil, minerals and valuable rare earth elements that China, the United States and other major tech economies covet.

A Chinese government-backed group's offer last year to build three new international airports on Greenland sparked alarms in Copenhagen and Washington.

The Chinese plan was finally nixed in exchange for Danish funding and a pledge of support from the Pentagon.

Trump's idea to buy Greenland, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, "is not a serious proposal," said Heather Conley, a specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

But, "The administration has awoken to the Arctic as a geostrategic issue," she said.

- Strategic value since WWII -

Greenland has been essential to US defense since World War II when it was a base for monitoring Nazi ships and submarines passing through the "Arctic Avenue," the sea gateway to the north Atlantic.

In 1943 the US Air Force built its farthest-north air base at Thule, Greenland.

Thule was crucial in the Cold War, a first line of monitoring against a potential Russian attack. With a population of 600, the base today is part of the NATO mission, operating satellite monitoring and strategic missile detection systems and handling thousands of flights a year.

"The early warning radar system in northern Greenland helps protect North America and is a key part of our missile defense apparatus," said Luke Coffey of The Heritage Foundation.

"Luckily the US is able to ensure and meet its security interests by maintaining this air base in northern Greenland. There's no requirement to buy Greenland to keep America safe."

- 'Aggressive' China and Russia -

Conley said that after the Cold War ebbed in the 1990s, Washington stopped thinking about the Arctic.

Yet as the polar ice sheet began to shrink, the Russians became more active and China has moved to establish itself in the region.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underscored the revived US interest in a speech in May in Finland, where he slammed China and Russia for "aggressive behavior" in the Arctic.

"The region has become an arena of global power and competition" owing to vast reserves of oil, gas, minerals and fish stocks, he warned.

"Just because the Arctic is a place of wilderness does not mean it should become a place of lawlessness," he said.

But Washington has not taken many concrete actions, Conley said. Pompeo only offered that the State Department would position a diplomat in Greenland's capital Nuuk for six months of the year.

"The rhetoric and the reaction -- there is a very big gap," she said.

- Arctic newcomer China -

With no geographical claim to the region, but whose massive commercial shipping industry would benefit from new polar routes as the ice melts, China is the newcomer whose presence could shift the balance.

It began sending scientific missions in 2004. In the past several years, a Chinese company has gained mining rights for rare earths, partnering with an Australian company in the Kvanefjeld project.

In January 2018 Beijing unveiled its "Polar Silk Road" strategy to extend its economic footprint through the Arctic.

To gain favor in Nuuk, the Chinese have wined and dined government officials, said Coffey.

"China's role in the Arctic has been more about expanding its economic influence, soft power," said Coffey.

"Ice melting is part of the interest, it is opening up new economic opportunities, but it's also opening up challenges. The US is aware of that," he said.

In a sign of Washington's rekindled interest, US President Donald Trump will go to Denmark in September, and Vice President Mike Pence will visit Iceland.

But Conley says more assertive moves are needed.

"I think we have a remarkably strong position now in Greenland. Denmark is an incredibly strong military partner to the US," she said.

"But if we are interested in potentially being an alternative to Greenland looking towards China for investment, are we going to put US investment there? I've not seen any of that."


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ICE WORLD
Arctic could be iceless in September if temps increase 2 degrees
Cincinnati OH (SPX) Aug 15, 2019
Arctic sea ice could disappear completely through September each summer if average global temperatures increase by as little as 2 degrees, according to a new study by the University of Cincinnati. The study by an international team of researchers was published in Nature Communications. "The target is the sensitivity of sea ice to temperature," said Won Chang, a study co-author and UC assistant professor of mathematics. "What is the minimum global temperature change that eliminates all ... read more

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