Greenland: Denmark increases military presence in the Arctic massively

Denmark wants to invest the equivalent of almost two billion euros in order to increase security in the strategically important Arctic region. “We have to face the fact that there are serious challenges for security and defense in the Arctic and the North Atlantic,” said Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen on Monday. Therefore, 14.6 billion crowns should be invested in the security of the region.

The announcement was made only two days after the new US President Donald Trump had reaffirmed his annexation plans for Greenland-and shortly before a trip from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to Berlin, Paris and Brussels. In Berlin it will be received by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday morning.

The money is to be invested in three new ships for the Arctic waters around Greenland, other long -distance roar and reinforced satellite capacities. The Danish government has agreed with a large majority of the parliamentary parties and in close cooperation with the governments of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as the Ministry of Defense in Copenhagen announced.

In addition to the first partial agreement with a value of around 14.6 billion crowns (around EUR 1.95 billion), the Danes, Färinger and Greenlanders agreed to negotiate a second agreement for deterrent and defense until summer. The security policy situation requires this, the ministry said.

At the same time, it is of crucial importance to support close allies and NATO in solving tasks in the Arctic and North Atlantic to strengthen defense and security. The Greenland foreign representative Vivian Motzfeldt spoke of a “historical day” at the presentation of the agreement in Copenhagen.

The announcement of the partial agreement falls during a time when US President Donald Trump has repeatedly registered claims for control over Greenland. Trump had stated several times in the past few weeks that he wanted to take over the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland – and not excluded military steps. According to Trump, the United States needs the area for its “national security” (Read more about this here). The largest island on earth is largely autonomous, but is officially part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is currently in the process of demonstrating European cohesion against the background of these desires. To do this, she travels to Berlin, Paris and Brussels on Tuesday to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte.

The island and its mineral resources have become a coveted goal, the melting ice of the Arctic opens up new shipping routes around them.