ReutersThe Danish government announced a significant increase in defense spending for Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his desire to buy the Arctic region.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was a “double-digit billions' sum” in krone, or at least $1.5bn (£1.2bn).
He described the timing of the announcement as “ironic.” Trump said on Monday that ownership and control of the massive island was an “absolute necessity” for the United States.
Greenland, an autonomous Danish region, is home to a large US space facility and is of strategic importance to the United States, as it lies on its shortest route to Europe. It has large mineral and oil reserves.
Poulsen said the package would allow for the purchase of two new inspection ships, two new long-range drones and two additional dog sled teams.
This will also include funding to increase staffing at the Arctic Command in the capital, Nuuk, and upgrade one of Greenland's three main civilian airports to handle F-35 supersonic fighter jets.
“We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years, and now we are planning for a stronger presence,” he said.
The Defense Minister did not give a specific figure for the package, but Danish media estimated it to be between 12 and 15 billion kroner.
The announcement came a day after Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social: “For the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Greenland's Prime Minister Miot Egedy responded to Trump's commentsSaying, “We are not for sale.”
But he added that Greenlanders should continue to be open to cooperation and trade, especially with their neighbours.
Analysts say the plan has been under discussion for a long time and should not be seen as a direct response to Trump's comments.
They say Denmark has so far been too slow to expand its military capacity in Greenland, but if the country is unable to protect the waters surrounding the region against encroachments by China and Russia, US demands for more control are likely to grow.
Army Major Sten Kjærgaard of the Danish Defense Academy suggests that Trump's intention may have been to pressure Denmark to take such a step.
“This is likely to be driven by Trump's renewed focus on the need for air and sea control around Greenland and developments internally in Greenland with some expressing a will to look towards the US – a new international airport in Nuuk has just opened,” he told the BBC.
“I think Trump is smart… he is making Denmark prioritize its military capabilities in the Arctic by raising this voice, without having to take on a very un-American welfare system,” he added, referring to Greenland’s heavy dependence on financial support from Copenhagen. .
Trump's original proposal in 2019 that the United States take over Greenland, the world's largest island, drew a similarly sharp rebuke from leaders there.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksson at the time described the idea as groundbreaking Trump cancels a state visit to the country.
He is not the first US president to propose buying Greenland. The idea was first proposed during the 1860s under President Andrew Johnson.
