In late September, around 800 of the United States’ top generals and admirals were summoned to a special meeting at Quantico, Virginia. According to The New York Times, they learned from US President Donald Trump that the United States “should use some of (America’s) dangerous cities as training grounds for our military”. The report also included an interesting photo of rows of upright, uniformed principal commanders paying attention to key presentations by their headmaster and deputy headmaster (Pete Hegseth, US secretary of war).
The governments of Greenland and Denmark, meanwhile, could be forgiven for wondering if the American annexation of Greenland may have been one agenda item, given the meeting must have discussed rather more than using the US military to police American citizens inside their own homeland.
As it happens, several leading international-law scholars have lately reaffirmed a long-established principle: Annexation — that is, the taking of another territory by force and asserting legal ownership — is illegal.
Instinctively unconcerned about such rules, President Trump, according to the BBC, said in May that he could not “rule out” the use of military force to annex Greenland. Shortly before this, in March, Trump told the US Congress that “One way or another, we’re going to get it,” asserting that Washington needed Greenland to bolster America’s national security.
But what is it that America wants to get?
Greenland is the world’s largest island, covering 2.16 million square kilometers. Two-thirds of it lies above the Arctic Circle, northeast of Canada. Most of it sits beneath the Greenland icecap. The Greenlandic Inuit comprise the majority of the population, which is estimated to be under 60,000. The ethnic Danes comprise the second-largest group. Greenland is known to have significant deposits of rare-earth minerals, as well as zinc, gold, iron ore, copper, and diamonds, all of which are difficult to access because of the forbidding climate. There may also be oil and gas offshore.
Denmark established formal colonies in Greenland over 300 years ago. A degree of self-rule was granted to Greenland by Copenhagen after World War II. In 1953, Greenland became an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and remains so to this day. Internal debate about seeking complete independence continues.

Might the US choose to advance its project “to get” Greenland by energizing some form of “color revolution”? The answer, as reported in a recent BBC article, is yes: Denmark has recently summoned the principal US diplomat in Copenhagen to discuss Danish intelligence that indicates Americans have been conducting covert operations in Greenland. Denmark’s public broadcaster claimed that “the aim was to infiltrate (Greenland) society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify who the men were working for”

The first American move to acquire Greenland — along with Iceland — occurred more than 150 years ago, in accordance with the Monroe Doctrine, which stipulated American dominance of the Western Hemisphere. In 1868, the US almost completed negotiations with Denmark to purchase both Greenland and Iceland for $5.5 million in gold, but no purchase was formalized. Subsequent US discussions about acquiring Greenland took place in 1910, 1946, and 1955. President Trump raised the matter again, in 2019, during his first presidency, when he canceled a planned trip to Copenhagen after Denmark refused to discuss the sale of Greenland.
After Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in 1940, the US, although not at war with Germany at that time, feared a possible invasion and occupation of Greenland by Germany. In April 1941, Washington concluded an unconventional treaty with Henrik Kauffmann, the Danish envoy in Washington, without the approval of the government in Copenhagen.
Very soon after, the US occupied Greenland — an occupation that lasted until 1945. The US established several weather and radio bases. Around 6,000 American military personnel occupied Greenland at this time, swelling the then-local population of about 20,000.
This American footprint in Greenland was consolidated after the war. Denmark joined NATO as a founding member in 1949, facilitating the establishment of a significant US Air Force base at Thule, which became known as one of America’s military “crown jewels” as the Cold War intensified. In 2023, Thule Air Base was renamed Pituffik Space Base upon its transfer to the new US Space Force. This base currently houses approximately 700 people.
Following Trump’s convincing victory in the 2024 presidential election, Washington’s focus on acquiring Greenland radically intensified. Shortly before being sworn in, Trump said, “Ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for the US (soon after amplified by additional piercing assertions — see above).
Then, in January, Donald Trump Jr, a son of the president, visited Greenland, where photo opportunities featuring MAGA hats were prominent, according to the BBC. The same report noted how his father declared that “the reception had been great”.
Two months later, US Vice-President JD Vance and Usha, his wife, made an unsolicited follow-up visit. The original plan for Usha Vance to spend several days engaging with residents had to be scaled back after significant reports that “Greenlanders were outraged” by the planned schedule. Ultimately, the couple spent only a short time at the Pituffik Space Base before departing.
All of these latest American moves on Greenland have been rebuffed in both Greenland and Denmark, with both repeatedly stressing that “Greenland is not for sale”. According to Reuters, an opinion poll in January this year found “85 percent of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island to become a part of the United States, with nearly half saying they see interest by US President Donald Trump as a threat”. Furthermore, “only 6 percent of Greenlanders are in favor of their island becoming part of the US”.
Denmark, a fellow NATO member alongside the US, is a close American ally. Still, many of its counterparts are, with good reason, increasingly nervous about US intentions and actions. American and Israeli treachery put Iran off-guard, before a massive bombing attack in June this year. Iran was a long-demonized foe, of course. But then, in September, Israel, with explicit White House foreknowledge, used a comparable, duplicitous approach before a bombing raid on Qatar. This jurisdiction is home to the most extensive US military base in the Middle East.
Might the US choose to advance its project “to get” Greenland by energizing some form of “color revolution”? The answer, as reported in a recent BBC article, is yes: Denmark has recently summoned the principal US diplomat in Copenhagen to discuss Danish intelligence that indicates Americans have been conducting covert operations in Greenland. Denmark’s public broadcaster claimed that “the aim was to infiltrate (Greenland) society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify who the men were working for”. Quite an ally.
The Economist recently highlighted what it called the “sinister brilliance” evident in certain White House tactics. They also said the meeting of top-level American military leaders in September was “ominous”. Greenland and Denmark must surely agree with both observations.

The author is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.