Why does Trump want to buy Greenland? Check where he has put up a Trump Tower

Washington, Aug 20: Donald Trump has tweeted an enormous image of a Trump Tower on Greenland. He tweeted an edited photo of a coastal town with colourful homes. Among these homes stands an enormous Trump Tower.

He however said, "I promise not to do this to Greenland."

The US President had said last week he was considering an attempt to buy Greenland for strategic reasons. " Denmark essentially owns it and we are good allies with them. We protect Denmark. So the concept came up and I said, certainly I will be. Strategically it is interesting and we will be interested, but we take to them a little bit. It is not Number 1 on the burner, I can tell you that," Trump had said.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had said that Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish and Greenland belongs to Greenland. I hope that this was not meant seriously, he also said.

If Trump is successful, he will cement his place in history alongside President Andrew Johnson, who bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 and Thomas Jefferson who in 1803 secured Louisiana from the French.

Trump has not put a value on Greenland, but his advisers feel that the take over would challenge China's dominance of the world's industrial metals. It would also help block Russia's military ambitions.

Greenland has some of the largest deposits of rare earth metals such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. It also has uranium. In this context one must look at China, which has been a supplier of rare earth metals. China has over the years secured a large share of the global market, when it comes to supplying rare earth metals for electric cars, mobile phones and computers.

The US would also be looking at Greenland Minerals, an Australian company that has been operating on Greenland's south-west peninsula. It is set to become one of the largest producers with over 100 m tonnes of ore present below the surface. This project to develop the Kvanefjeld mine will become the largest producers globally outside China.

This decision could also be seen in the context of China becoming an aggressive player after Xi Jinping took over. The economic war with China would mean that the US would need greater economic independence. The Guardian in a report said that Trump's advisers have spent much time discussing an economic war with China rather than worrying about Russia and its military ambitions.

Trump on the other hand said that the idea of buying Greenland from Denmark came up in conversations within his administration and that it's essentially "a large real estate deal." The semi-autonomous territory of Denmark has said it's not for sale.

In remarks to reporters on Sunday, Trump cast the possible purchase as a strategic move by the US but not a top priority for his administration.

Greenland is situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The US military has operated for decades from Thule Air Base in Greenland.

Trump suggested that Greenland is an economic burden for Denmark, saying Denmark loses almost USD700 million a year "carrying it."

He also described Denmark as a very good ally and a country that the US protects as it does other portions of the world.