00:00Let's talk to Marina Miron, the defense studies researcher at King's College in London.
00:05Marina Miron, welcome to the program. Good to see you.
00:08What is the significance of European countries sending these troops to Greenland?
00:13Good afternoon, Jamie.
00:15Well, European countries are hoping to show to the American administration
00:20that they can address some of the concerns that the U.S. president has voiced,
00:26namely China's and Russia's presence.
00:30So by increasing their own military presence on the island,
00:35they are hoping to tilt the focus away from Greenland
00:41or from the ideas that the United States could take over Greenland.
00:45That being said, is it going to be a deterrent for the United States
00:50or is it going to be more of a show of force that NATO is there
00:55and NATO is going to protect U.S. interests in the region?
01:01And so that is one of the things that the Europeans are debating,
01:05even if they don't share the concerns that the U.S. president has voiced
01:08in terms of Chinese and Russian presence in that area.
01:12And I wonder how much of all this is a sign of a breakdown in trust
01:17between the United States and its European allies.
01:21What does it say about the relationship?
01:23Well, from what we have seen since Donald Trump entered the – started his presidency last January,
01:34is that he made American interests a priority.
01:38And his vice president, J.D. Vance, has explained to the Europeans
01:42that the Americans are disconcerted with the course that the continent has taken.
01:49And so there have been disagreements in the past,
01:53and Greenland is just another disagreement that we can overtly see.
01:59How many there are covertly, we don't know.
02:02Possibly those are things that are discussed behind closed doors.
02:05But generally speaking, it could go both ways.
02:09It's either the Trump administration is trying this way to ensure
02:13that European countries, European NATO members start taking security seriously
02:18without reliance on the United States so that the United States can focus on
02:23other foreign policy priorities, or it is indeed a bigger rift
02:29that raises a lot of questions about the future role of the United States
02:35within the NATO alliance.
02:37Is Denmark's military build-up in Greenland meant to reinforce Denmark's sovereignty?
02:46It is a show of force from Denmark, despite the fact that, politically speaking,
02:54both the Trump administration has expressed a friendly relationship with Denmark.
03:01That being said, of course, Denmark would be the most interested party in retaining Greenland.
03:09So, therefore, it would be expected that the biggest contingent
03:13would be deployed by Denmark.
03:15That being said, which role that force will have in terms of
03:19will it actually generate the desired strategic effect
03:24in terms of political messaging when it comes to the United States is questionable.
03:30Mr. Trump's team, were they here, might well say,
03:34well, you know, good, Europe is finally pulling together,
03:37spending on defence and doing what it always should have done.
03:41It's a fair point, isn't it?
03:42It could be that, but there can be other interests at stake
03:48if we look at the history of Greenland and the fact that in 1946,
03:54the then U.S. president, Henry Truman, tried to purchase Greenland.
03:58Certainly, it's geo-strategic position, natural resources.
04:04There is, of course, a big question mark there in terms of how expensive it would be to extract them.
04:09And also, research and the control, the logistical opportunities that it opens up,
04:17that could be in the U.S. interest,
04:18because if we are looking at the Chinese and the Russians focusing on the Arctic region
04:25and creating alternative shipping routes, such as the Northern Sea route,
04:30then it could possibly be one of the reasons why the Trump administration
04:34wants complete control of Greenland rather than have European presence there
04:40if we operate under the premise that there is a lack of trust
04:45between the Trump administration and its European allies.
04:49Good to talk to you.
04:50Thanks so much for coming on the programme.
04:51I'm Marina Miron, Defence Studies Researcher at King's College in London.
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