Denmark says it has neglected Greenland defense for years 

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK —

Denmark admitted on Thursday that it had long neglected the defense of Greenland, the vast and strategically important Arctic island – which US President-elect Donald Trump has called crucial to US security.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, said this week that US control of Greenland – a sovereign Danish territory – was an “absolute necessity”, and did not rule out using military or economic action against Denmark to make it happen.

“For many years we have neglected the necessary investment in ships and aircraft to help monitor our kingdom, and that is what we are trying to do now,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters.

The US Embassy in Copenhagen said earlier Thursday that the United States has no plans to increase its military presence in Greenland.

“There are no plans to increase the current United States military footprint in Greenland,” a spokesman told Reuters. “We will continue to work closely with Copenhagen and Nuuk [Greenland’s capital] to ensure that all proposals meet our shared security needs.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said late Thursday that she had sought a meeting with Trump but did not expect it to come before his inauguration.

the presence of the US military

Greenland has been under Danish control for centuries, although its 57,000 inhabitants now manage their own domestic affairs. However, its security and foreign affairs are still managed by Copenhagen.

The US military maintains a permanent presence at Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland.

Greenland is crucial for the US military and its ballistic missile early warning system, because the island is the shortest route from Europe to North America.

“I think the Americans are quite concerned that Russia could actually launch or initiate a major attack on the United States, and it could be done from the Russian side,” Jens Wenzel of Nordic Defense Analysis told Reuters.

“There’s no real surveillance of Greenland’s airspace. It’s basically a free-for-all,” he said.

Greenland is already covered by US security guarantees through Denmark’s NATO membership.

Frederiksen said this week that she could not imagine the United States using military intervention in Greenland and said it was up to the people of Greenland to decide what they wanted.

‘Tight rope’

Frederiksen called the leaders of Denmark’s political parties to a meeting on Thursday for a briefing on Trump’s renewed interest. She rejected his offer in 2019 to buy Greenland.

On Wednesday, Frederiksen hosted Greenlandic leader Mute Egede for talks in Copenhagen. Egede stands for the independence of his homeland and said it is not for sale.

Egede discussed trade and other issues with the US ambassador in Copenhagen on Wednesday, the embassy said.

Last month, Trump said he had selected Ken Howery to be the new US envoy to Denmark. As PayPal’s co-founder, Howery is considered a member of a group of former employees and executives at the digital finance company that includes prominent Trump supporters Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.

“They are walking a tightrope,” said Lin Alexandra Mortensgaard, a Greenland expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, referring to the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers.

“It’s a balance between representing an autonomous territory and representing a sovereign state, while still taking seriously the demands of Denmark’s closest ally,” she said.

Denmark’s European allies France and Germany responded to Trump’s comments by emphasizing the inviolability of borders.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Thursday that he believes Trump recognized Greenland as part of Denmark and that concerns about Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic lie behind the president-elect’s statements.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Moscow is closely monitoring “dramatic developments” in Greenland and that the Arctic falls within the zone of Russia’s strategic national interests.

In Greenland, opinions on the island’s future appear to be divided, with some warmly welcoming Trump’s statements and others reacting with skepticism.

Danish lawmakers from across the political spectrum called on Frederiksen, a Social Democrat, to firmly reject any attempt by foreign powers to undermine Greenland’s status.

“The US wants to take over Denmark’s role in Greenland, and the Danish government must say clearly and unequivocally no to that,” said former conservative minister Rasmus Jarlov on X.

Meanwhile, the screenwriter of hit Danish TV drama series “Borgen,” Adam Price, joked on Instagram that it’s getting “harder and harder to write political fiction as real-life politics get more extreme.”

All that remained was to get popcorn, he added.