JD Vance said military force won’t be necessary in Donald Trump’s plan to take over Greenland as he said residents will want to choose to align with the US instead of Denmark.
Asked during his controversial visit to the territory on Friday whether the US had drawn up a military plan to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory, the US Vice President said that he predicts that Greenlanders would choose to break away from Denmark, and that conversations would then be held with the US to determine its future.
"We do not think military force is ever going to be necessary," he said.
Mr Vance slammed Denmark during the visit to the US military base at Pituffik in the north of the Arctic island, saying it has not done a good job in keeping the territory and its people safe from incursions by China and Russia.
He said the US does not have immediate plans to expand U.S. military presence on the ground in Greenland but will invest in resources including additional naval ships.
"Denmark has not kept pace and devoted the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations," Vance said. He gave no details of the alleged incursions.
Vance’s remarks came just hours after a new broad Greenland government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now, was presented in the capital, Nuuk.
New prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the US visit signalled a "lack of respect" and called for unity in the face of "pressure from outside".
The visit has caused fury for its “underlying agenda” at a time when President Trump is renewing his insistence that Washington should take control of the territory.
Speaking to US troops at the base, Vance said it was a “pretty cool thing” to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland.
He added: “The mission is really important, the Trump administration is really interested in Arctic security.
“It's a big issue and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades.”
In Washington, Trump said the U.S. "needs Greenland for international security."
Trump, speaking to reporters soon after Vance's arrival at the military base, alluded to the rising Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change.
"Greenland's very important for the peace of the world," Trump said. "And I think Denmark understands, and I think the European Union understands it. And if they don't, we're going to have to explain it to them."
Asked if the people there were "eager" to become US citizens, Trump said he did not know "but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them".
The initial plan for the trip had been for Vance's wife to visit a dog-sled race on the island together with Waltz, even though they were not invited by authorities in either Greenland or Denmark.
Public protests and outrage from authorities in both Greenland and Denmark prompted the US delegation to only fly to the military base and not meet the public.
Under the terms of a 1951 agreement, the US is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen. Pituffik is located along the shortest route from Europe to North America and is vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.
Trump reiterated his desire to take over Greenland as recently as Wednesday, saying the US needs the strategically located island for national and international security.
"So, I think we'll go as far as we have to go. We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark," he said.
Vladimir Putin added to the tensions around the row this week as he said repeated threats to bring Greenland under US control should be taken seriously - and he was “concerned by the fact that the NATO countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold for possible conflicts."
The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than the Danish capital Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited U.S. investment. Mining companies operating in Greenland are mostly Australian, Canadian or British.
