‘We have to have’ Greenland, says Donald Trump

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US President Donald Trump has insisted “we have to have Greenland”, a day after appointing a special envoy to the vast Arctic island — a move that sparked outrage among his European allies.

Trump said his interest in the geopolitically crucial island of just 57,000 inhabitants, which is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark and located in North America, was not down to its rare minerals and mining opportunities.

“If you take a look at Greenland, up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it,” he told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday.

Some in Denmark and Greenland had hoped Trump’s interest in taking over control of the island from Copenhagen would die down after he expressed it in his first term as president in 2019 and again on retaking office at the start of this year.

But those hopes were dashed this week when Trump named Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as his special envoy — a role often reserved for conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East — for Greenland without discussing with either Nuuk or Copenhagen.

European officials quickly rallied behind Denmark, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the foreign ministers of Germany, Norway and Sweden.

“Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. These principles are essential not only for the European Union, but for nations around the world,” von der Leyen said, adding that Arctic security was a big EU priority.

Trump’s assertion that there are many Russian and Chinese vessels close to Greenland is disputed by Greenlandic and Danish officials, who say ships from neither country have been visible in recent years. Chinese business interest in Greenland has waned after several attempts in the 2010s to participate in mining and tourism projects.

Trump again denigrated Denmark’s governance of its semi-autonomous territory. “Denmark has spent no money. They have no military protection,” he said on Monday evening.

The US maintains the sole military base in Greenland, dating back to a 1951 deal with Denmark to establish what is now the Pituffik space base. But the US presence on the island has dwindled in the decades since from a peak of about 15,000 military personnel to around 200.

Denmark has responded to Trump’s growing pressure by significantly increasing its own military commitment to Greenland, announcing in October that it would spend $4.2bn on two military units in the polar region, a joint Arctic command headquarters in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk as well as ships, aircraft, drones and radar.

Trump also continued to cast aspersions on Denmark’s claim on Greenland. “They say that Denmark was there 300 years ago or something, with a boat. Well, we were there with boats too, I’m sure. So we’ll have to work it all out,” he added.

Occasional polls have suggested a majority of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark but only when their economy is stronger. A poll in January found that 85 per cent of Greenlanders did not want to become part of the US.