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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Gustaf Kilander

Denmark to increase military spending in Arctic by $2 billion - as Trump sets his sights on Greenland

Denmark is set to increase military spending in its Arctic semiautonomous territory of Greenland by the equivalent of $2 billion, and the French foreign minister floated sending European troops to the island, following multiple aggressive statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about purchasing the territory.

Greenland has grown increasingly important in recent years as the Arctic ice melts, opening up new sea routes for commercial shipping.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has said that his country discussed with Denmark sending troops to the island in response to Trump’s ongoing threats. When he was asked about the notion of sending E.U. troops to Greenland, Barrot told French radio station Sud Radio that France had “started discussing [troop deployment] with Denmark.”

He added that it was not “Denmark’s wish” to go ahead with the plans, according to Politico.

Trump has called for U.S. control of Greenland since his first term in office. “Ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for national security reasons, the president has said, and he has refused to rule out using military or economic force to gain control of the territory.

“If Denmark calls for help, France will be there,” said Barrot. “The European borders are sovereign whether it’s north, south, east and west ... nobody can allow themselves to mess around with our borders.”

He added that during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, the other ministers had shared their “very strong support” for Denmark and “were ready to consider [sending troops]” if required.

But Barrot went on to say that he doesn’t believe the U.S. would take up arms against Greenland.

“It won’t happen, people don’t invade EU territories,” he said.

In a statement Monday announcing the boost in spending, Greenland government member Vivian Motzfeldt said the territory is “facing a changing security landscape,” according to The New York Times.

Copenhagen is spending more on its North Atlantic territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands as part of an agreement struck last year amid rising tensions in the Arctic between the U.S., Russia, and China.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (left) speaks to reporters. Her country is set to raise its military spending in the Arctic - while U.S. President Donald Trump talks about acquiring Greenland (Getty Images)

But the announcement of the growth in spending was likely pushed forward amid increased strains in the relationship between Copenhagen and Washington over control of Greenland, Niels Thulesen Dahl, a political analyst at Jyllands-Posten, a Danish daily, said, according to The Times.

The governments of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands will buy three Arctic naval vessels to patrol its waters according to the agreement. In addition, they will also obtain two long-range drones and satellites for increased surveillance in the area, the official statement said.

The Danish government added that the new increased budget will also include funding for training young people in Greenland “to acquire important skills allowing them to take responsibility for preparedness.”

“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Danish defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in the statement.

Just a day after the announcement was made, Danish Prime Minister Metter Frederiksen met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the NATO secretary general, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The meetings with Western allies come after she spoke on the phone with Trump last week, with European officials describing the call as momentarily aggressive and antagonistic. Frederiksen went to Berlin and Paris on Tuesday morning in an attempt to get support from allies in dealing with Trump.

“The agreement has become slightly larger than it would otherwise have been,” Dahl added, according to The Times. He said that the announcement revealed that Greenland and Denmark have shared interests, rejecting the notion that the Greenlandic people would welcome American control of the territory.

“Much of the current discussion and tension feeds into a narrative that Denmark and Greenland have no shared interests and that Greenlanders simply want to move as quickly as possible away from Denmark and into the arms of the Americans,” Dahl added, noting that this is an inaccurate impression.

Trump has called for U.S. control of Greenland since his first term in office (Getty Images)

While Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. would like to buy Greenland, both the Danes and the local authorities in the Greenland capital of Nuuk have said that the territory is not for sale. Denmark ruled over it for more than 200 years and retains some control over its defense and foreign policy.

Earlier this month, before he was sworn in for his second term, Trump claimed, “People don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security.”

The idea of buying Greenland initially came to Trump from cosmetics billionaire Ronald Lauder, according to the 2022 book The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker. Trump and Lauder have known each other since their college days.

The notion was subject to months of internal study and debate, much to the bemusement of cabinet secretaries and aides to the president.

“A friend of mine, a really, really experienced businessman, thinks we can get Greenland,” Trump told his National Security adviser, according to the book. “What do you think?”

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