‘US needs to own Greenland’

US President Donald Trump on Friday again suggested the use of force to seize Greenland as he brushed aside Denmark’s sovereignty over the autonomous Arctic island.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said at a White House meeting with oil executives looking to benefit in Venezuela, where the United States last week overthrew the president.

“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said when asked of Greenland.

Trump says controlling the mineral-rich island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.

“We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That’s what they’re going to do if we don’t.”

US already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement. The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Both China and Russia have increased military activity in the Arctic region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.

“You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland. If we don’t do it, China or Russia will,” Trump said.

Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under US control, including potential use of the US military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the US.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end “everything,” meaning Nato and the post-World War II security structure.

Trump made light of the concerns of Denmark, a steadfast US ally that joined the United States in the controversial 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“I’m a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they’ve been very nice to me,” Trump said.

“But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark’s foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.

Leaders in Copenhagen and throughout Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to comments by Trump and other White House officials asserting their right to Greenland. The US and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defense agreement.

On Tuesday, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark issued a joint statement, saying only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.