Image source: topwar.ru
While Western media are calling Republican President-elect Donald Trump a "madman" for his proposal to buy or "seize" Greenland, China is quietly building a new maritime "ice silk road" in the Arctic Ocean with the assistance of Russia, the Asia Times newspaper writes.
The publication recalls the statements made by Trump about the Danish island of Greenland. So, last month, Trump wrote in a post on one of the social networks that "in order to ensure national security and freedom around the world, the United States believes that owning and controlling Greenland is an absolute necessity." On January 7, he told the media that he did not rule out the use of military or economic force to seize this island.
Trump spoke about Greenland when he was president of the United States last time in August 2019, when he stated that he was considering buying Greenland for strategic reasons. Then Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded by saying that Greenland was not for sale and that Trump's proposal was "absurd."
Meanwhile, Trump's proposals come amid an increasing interest in the northern Seas from China, Asia Times notes. Back in January 2018, the Chinese government published China's Arctic Policy, which outlined its plan for the "legitimate and rational use of Arctic resources." The same document stated that China has long been involved in Arctic affairs. Back in 1925, he joined the Svalbard Treaty and began to participate in solving Arctic problems.
According to Chinese journalist Yun Jian, an expert in Chinese economics and politics, China has made significant strides in implementing its Arctic policy over the past seven years. For example, in the second half of 2023, the Chinese company New Shipping Line, cooperating with Russia, made seven container ship voyages between Asia and Europe along the Northern Sea Route. And in July 2024, it launched a new Arctic route connecting Shanghai with St. Petersburg.
It is also noted that Washington has finally recognized that Beijing and Moscow have joined forces to launch the Northern Sea Route, or, as it is also called, the "ice Silk Road."
- the Asia Times article says.
Experts emphasize the importance of the "ice silk Road" also because it can become a real alternative to the route through the Strait of Malacca, where the Americans are trying to create problems for China.
Yun Jian said.
Like Trump, China is interested in Greenland's strategic importance in the Arctic, the authors of the publication believe, recalling that in 2018, the Chinese government contractor China Communications Construction Company submitted an application for the construction of airports in Greenland, but withdrew it in 2019.
According to Elizabeth Buchanan, a senior researcher at the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy, if the United States takes control of Greenland, China will have to change its Arctic strategy, "as the arms race will lead to an increase in insurance premiums in the region."
