“The Danish government has announced a major increase in defense spending on Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory. Source: BBC, “European Truth” Details: Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the defense package is “double-digit billions” in kroner, or at least $1.5 billion.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
The Danish government has announced a major increase in defense spending on Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory.
Source: BBC, “The European Truth”
Details: Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the defense package amounted to a “double-digit billion sum” in kroner, or at least $1.5 billion.
He called the timing of the announcement “ironic,” since Trump said on Monday that possession and control of the huge island is an “absolute necessity” for the United States.
Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is home to a major US space facility and is strategically important to the US as it lies on the shortest route to Europe. It has large reserves of minerals and oil.
According to Poulsen, the package will buy two new inspection ships, two new long-range drones and two additional dog sled teams.
It also provides funding to increase the staffing of the Arctic Command in the capital Nuuk and to upgrade one of Greenland’s three main civilian airports to service F-35 supersonic fighter jets.
“We have underinvested in the Arctic for many years, now we plan to strengthen our presence,” he said.
The Minister of Defense did not specify the exact amount of the package, but the Danish mass media estimated that it would amount to about 12-15 billion kroner.
The announcement came a day after Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social: “In order to ensure national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that the possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede responded to Trump’s comments by saying “we are not selling out.”
But he added that Greenlanders should remain open to cooperation and trade, especially with their neighbors.
Analysts say the plan to strengthen Greenland’s defenses has been discussed for a long time and should not be seen as a direct response to Trump’s comments.
So far, Denmark has been very slow to expand its military capabilities in Greenland, they say, but if the country cannot protect the waters around the territory from encroachment by China and Russia, US demands for greater control are likely to increase.