The importance of islands in different continents at the center of global geopolitical tensions and power balances has once again surfaced. Their geographic location, natural resources and strategic importance have often made these islands the focus of strategic interest for major powers.

The charm of the islands in history 

US President James Polk's administration (1845-1849) gave the islands and territorial expansion the most importance in history. His 'Manifest Destiny' policy was instrumental in bringing the US to the Pacific Ocean, the acquisition of the islands. Polk annexed Texas to the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 added California and other territories to the United States.

The US-Mexico War fulfilled America's ambition to expand to the Pacific Islands. Although there was no formal acquisition of Hawaii during Polk's time, American interests in Hawaii and other Pacific islands later 

is thought to be exaggerated. Polk, who held office for only one term in American history, achieved record-breaking success in geographically expanding island acquisitions. At this time, President Donald Trump has shown ambition to follow the same style. 

In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii to realize Polk's expansionist policy. The island was founded in 1893 by some American traders and missionaries who deposed Queen Liliuokalani and established a republic. More interestingly, with China's growing influence, the island is becoming a silent center of US-China tensions. McKinley, perhaps Trump's only named role model, gets credit for turning American expansion into an imperial power. 

McKinley succeeded in seizing Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico in the war against Spain. Although giving formal independence to Cuba in order to maintain its influence, it further awakened the appetite for American geographical expansion over the rest. It was he who in 1897 passed the 'Dingley Tariff Act' and initiated a formal policy to protect American industries by raising import taxes. This is what President Trump is spreading on earth. He made the US dollar the gold standard currency. Tragically, he was shot and killed by anarchist Leon Cholgos at the Pan-American Exposition in New York on September 6, 1901. 

Western expansion, upheaval in Asia

After the Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States succeeded in capturing Guam. The island became a center of battle with Japan in World War II. Guam is home to large US military bases, and is considered to be at a crossroads between North Korea's missile threat and China's South China Sea policy. In 2017, North Korea threatened to target Guam. The JFK files made public on March 18, 2025 further brought to the fore the tensions between the US and China in the South China Sea. The Philippines' northern islands, including Batanes, have been drawn into the center of another rivalry because of their proximity to Taiwan. 

Major military exercises between the US and the Philippines in 2023 (BBC News, April 26, 2023) clearly put these islands at the forefront of US strategy. China considers it a serious US interference. In 2022, the Solomon Islands banned entry to US and British ships after signing a security agreement with China. The Pentagon understands that China has expanded its strategic influence in the Pacific region through this island (Indopacinfo, August 25, 2022). 

These islands located in the South China Sea have been claimed by China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The US is accusing Beijing of building artificial islands and establishing military bases in the China Sea. These islands are becoming the center of global conflict as the US is running a 'Freedom of Navigation' campaign there. The geographic location of these islands with proximity to Taiwan, South Korea as well as trade routes make them challenging from a military and economic point of view. U.S. interest should also be heightened because of oil and gas resources in the Spratly Islands. 

Since the days of the Polk administration, the Trump administration's policy of imposing US influence on the islands has begun to overturn the past. President Trump's repeated threats to seize Greenland from Denmark have left the island nation and its administration reeling. Greenland, the world's largest island, is at the forefront of strategic challenges due to its location in the Arctic region. Natural resources such as oil, gas, and rare minerals are said to have fueled Trump's interest, but they are understood to be an integral part of the US security strategic master plan. 

As the latest development (March 13, 2025), in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump gave a strategic message to occupy Greenland by any means, calling it "necessary for national and international security". Denmark is reiterating that it cannot defend Greenland and that the island will be annexed by the US one way or another (Washington Post – March 23, 2025).

The Democrat Party has won the parliamentary elections in Greenland (March 11, 2025). This party has been taking the policy of gradual independence of the island from Denmark. Greenland's future prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said, 'We want to be Greenlanders, not Americans or Danes', but no one in the world seems to be talking about US intervention (The Guardian, 13 March 2025).

Before that, it is not difficult to understand that the Danish Prime Minister's future is weakening due to the cold response of the people of Greenland in a long interview published in Time magazine. After World War II, the US military base at Pitufic Space Base in Greenland remains. The Pentagon believes that this island is a strategic choke-point to stop Russia and China's Arctic influence. 

The US looks alarmed after Nauru, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean (population about 11,000), breaks long-standing diplomatic relations with Taiwan and establishes relations with China in 2024. The U.S. understands that China is seizing the opportunity to lure Nauru into its sphere of influence by promising financial aid and investment after Nauru's economy is in crisis after the end of its phosphate mines. Nauru's decision to connect with Beijing has shocked Taiwan and raised strategic concerns for Australia as well. It has become another strategic choke-point for Beijing and Washington. 

Cyprus is a long-disputed island divided between the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized by Turkey (which is not recognized by the international community). It seceded in 1974 after Turkey invaded the northern part of Cyprus. The island's strategic location makes it a point of tension between NATO, Russia and the Middle East. The island is important for monitoring and controlling energy routes to the Middle East. Tensions between Turkey and Greece continue to make the island a geopolitical flashpoint. The division of Cyprus has further complicated relations between the European Union and Turkey, as well as Russian interest in the island.(Foreignpolicy, 21 March 2025). 

toward the end of existence Taiwan 

Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China, is considered by Beijing to be its inalienable province, but has remained as an independent island nation guided by the United States until now. The island has been at the center of tensions between the US and China for decades. China's increasing military activity in the South China Sea near Taiwan and the rhetoric that the Trump administration has begun to weaken despite the US military and diplomatic support to Taiwan are believed to have made others more sensitive. In various public comments, it is not difficult to understand that the Xi Jinping administration's strategy to formally incorporate the island into the mainland by 2026 is facilitated by the Trump administration's policy of 'swallowing the small with the strong'. 

In an environment where Taiwan's semiconductor (semiconductor) industry provides the basis for American technology development, the Trump administration is aggressively welcoming Taiwanese businessmen and industry to the US, thinking that its supply chain could be interrupted at any time. Interestingly, unlike Greenland, Taiwan has not lost its activism to maintain its independence. As Greenland's arctic location and military base make it a buffer between the US and Russia. Similarly, Taiwan and the Spratly Islands are at the center of the Asian balance of power. Nauru and Cyprus are attracting major powers for regional influence and resources. These two islands are mainly in the "crosshairs" of geopolitical competition between the US and China. 

irrelevant multilateralism 

In response to the China-Solomon Islands security agreement in 2022, the US has dramatically increased its military presence in the Pacific region. The strategy of island nations using climate change as a diplomatic weapon to protect their autonomy is now an old weapon. In 2023, the Pacific Islands at the United Nations demanded climate funding through the Blue Pacific Strategy, but no one wanted to listen. Increased involvement of countries like the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean in the SCO and BRICS forums seems to be comparatively useful. 

Fiji, Solomon Islands and Samoa are testing how they can benefit from China's economic growth. In the competition with America and Australia, which are among the big powers, the 'friends to all' policy of the island nations is becoming irrelevant for those islands themselves. Now that they are forced to bow down to Beijing or Washington is really becoming the most difficult choice of their freedom.

According to the report 'Pacific Island Geopolitics: A Game for Advantage (2024)', the US has invested more than $1 billion in the Pacific region and China has invested more than $500 million in port and communication infrastructure in the Pacific Islands by 2024. The Partners in the Pacific Ocean campaign launched in 2022 by the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the UK is now being undermined by the Trump administration's closeness to Moscow and perhaps Beijing.

was also an informal mechanism. In 2024, the US further increased its military presence in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in the Pacific region. China is pushing for a BRI agreement with 10 Pacific island nations by 2024, as well as building a military base in the Solomon Islands. In the meantime, Solomon and Kiribati left Taiwan and chose Beijing.

Fiji and Samoa try to maintain a balanced relationship with China and America and the current situation of Indian influence in Fiji is about to change very quickly. The competition highlights the Beijing-Washington rivalry and tensions in the global economy and Pacific trade and security perspectives on sea lanes. 

Although New Delhi does not appear in the competition between these island nations due to the binding relationship of harmony between the two superpowers of Asia, China and India, the recent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Mauritius and the competition with Beijing over the Maldives and Sri Lanka seem to be beyond the imagination at which level the strategy of these two superpowers will develop or explode. Recently, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar symbolically claimed that since President Trump is well aware that Prime Minister Modi is a staunch nationalist, such nationalists "respect" each other. This means that it applies to Chinese President Xi Jinping as well. 

As President Trump is trying to define the country and strategic relationship by quoting history, Modi has gone further and said that there is no reference to enmity with China. Our relationship is very strong with deep cultural ties. If we look back over the centuries, there is no history of conflict between us. We are always focused on learning and understanding from each other.

There was a time when Buddhist philosophy had a deep influence in China and that philosophy was originally born here,' says Modi in a three-hour long podcast with Leigh Friedman, named after the popular spiritual. As the 21st century is the century of Asia, we want India and China to compete in a healthy and natural way. Competition is not a bad thing, but it should never turn into a conflict.' During the Chennai informal summit in the famous Mahawalipur, Xi said, "We two ancient civilizations should learn respect and methods from each other, which will promote our common development and prosperity." At this time, the Chinese media has also increased interest in publishing and broadcasting quotations of those old sayings and statements. Which further clarifies the Chinese perception. In this way, it can be understood that the American aggression on the island nations has opened the way for the two superpowers of Asia to inevitably reach a strategic partnership.