Is ‘no Greenland seafood for China’ the US’ new security doctrine?

The United States is employing a strategy to contain China by restricting its access to critical technologies and commodities, while simultaneously redirecting supply chains to bolster American industries. This approach, initially articulated during the Trump administration, appears to be a core element of current US foreign policy.

Tom Dans, a Treasury official under Trump and now head of the US Arctic Research Commission, shed light on the strategic importance of Greenland to American national security. He suggested that the US could claim all of Greenland's seafood production, thereby cutting out intermediaries and preventing China from accessing it.

Dans's remarks, shared with The New Yorker staff writer Ben Taub, revealed a pragmatic, albeit stark, articulation of this policy. "My view is that the United States could take all the seafood Greenland could produce, and cut out the middleman, and keep it from China – and you could bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster," he stated.

This 'seafood doctrine' highlights a specific tactic within the broader US strategy to counter China's substantial appetite for seafood. By leveraging its influence and potentially its proximity, the US aims to control access to resources vital to its geopolitical rival.

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My view is that the United States could take all the seafood Greenland could produce, and cut out the middleman, and keep it from China – and you could bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster.