WASHINGTON — United States officials are strengthening ties with Greenland in an attempt to keep China out of the strategic Arctic region, according to a new report Thursday.
High-level officials from the United States on Wednesday met with their counterparts from the autonomous territory of Denmark and are close to finalizing a number of deals on security and diplomatic cooperation as well as trade and investment initiatives, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A US senior official told the publication that White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien led a virtual summit with leaders from Denmark and Greenland where they spoke about strengthening ties and reducing China’s attempt to gain a foothold in the region.
One of those arrangements include the US helping Greenland assess foreign investments.
The world’s largest snow-covered island last made US headlines in August when news broke that President Trump had expressed interest in buying Greenland due to its strategic location and rich supply of rare minerals. It was not for sale.
Denmark and the US have a decades-old defense treaty and the United States’ northernmost military base, Thule Air Base, which includes a missile early-warning system, is located in Greenland.
But Chinese Communist officials have also been attempting to gain influence on the island, including a deal that would have seen China finance three airports on the island, which the Pentagon successfully derailed in 2018.
The US has also sought to strengthen ties with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rogue Chinese province, after it was one of the first nations to raise the alarm about the coronavirus pandemic. It is facing mounting threats from China, much like the recent crackdown on Hong Kong.