Denmark to boost Greenland defense amid Trump comments

Denmark announced a major new package to boost the security of Greenland in a move the Danish defense minister called “ironic” because it came just two days after President-elect Trump called for U.S. ownership of the Arctic island.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that Copenhagen plans to spend the equivalent of around $1.5 billion in the new defense package.

“For many years we have not invested enough in the Arctic, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he told the outlet.

Poulsen explained the package was planned in advance, and it was “ironic” that it coincided with Trump’s call for control of the island.

He also said Denmark was willing to “work with the U.S.” to secure Greenland.

The package includes two Thetis-class patrol boats, two long-range drones, two sled dog teams and more Danish military personnel in Greenland, according to Jyllands-Posten.

Trump, in a Truth Social post, said U.S. ownership and control of Greenland was an “absolute necessity” for national security reasons.

In his first term, Trump had also called for buying Greenland in a move that sparked tensions between Washington and Copenhagen.

Greenland is a self-governing region but is still within the control of Denmark, which handles matters of defense, security and foreign policy.

The Arctic is a major sphere of national security as the U.S. is looking to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in a region that is opening up more as climate change melts ice and creates new pathways.

Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien said in an interview that Denmark should let the U.S. “buy” Greenland if it cannot defend the self-governing country, noting the territory will become increasingly important in the coming years.

In an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” O’Brien described Greenland as a “highway from the Arctic all the way to North America” and noted that the autonomous country, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, will become increasingly important as the climate warms in the coming years.

“It’s strategically very important to the Arctic, which is going to be the critical battleground of the future because, as the climate gets warmer, the Arctic is going to be a pathway that maybe even cuts down on the usage of the Panama Canal,” O’Brien said.

Talk of buying Greenland can also be seen as a national security play. The Arctic is a key region as the U.S. looks to counter Russia and China, and it’s becoming more contested as melting ice opens up new shipping routes.

O’Brien quoted President-elect Trump as saying that the U.S. won’t defend Greenland free of charge.

“The Russians and Chinese are all over the Arctic,” O’Brien said. “The Kingdom of Denmark owns Greenland, and they have got an obligation to defend Greenland. And so President Trump said, ‘If you don’t defend Greenland, we will buy it and we will defend it. But we’re not going to defend it for free and let you — and not develop Greenland and not extract the minerals and oil and resources of Greenland.’”

“Denmark is now on the front lines of the war against Russia and China. They’re like the Baltic states. They’re like Poland because of their vast territory in Greenland. And so they have got to defend Greenland,” O’Brien added. “And if they can’t defend it, we’re going to have to, and we’re not going to do it for free.”

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