Denmark increasing military spendingamid row with Trump over Greenland

The government of Denmark says it will increase military spending in the North Atlantic amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to have Greenland sold or ceded to the United States. 

Late Monday, the Danish government announced an agreement of 14.6 billion-kroner – or nearly $2 billion – with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.”

The Defense Ministry in Copenhagen said those will include three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity. 

On Tuesday, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, traveled to several major European capitals, including Berlin, Paris and Brussels, where she met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

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Frederiksen warned that Europe faces what she called “a more uncertain reality” and said her country would be strengthening its military presence around Greenland.

The trip comes after Trump has repeatedly made various statements calling Greenland vital to U.S. national and economic security interests and expressed interest in purchasing it from Denmark. Trump has even said he wouldn’t rule out using military force to gain control of the island’s territory. 

Frederiksen didn’t directly mention Trump’s threat in comments at a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but she said that “we are facing a more uncertain reality, a reality that calls for an even more united Europe and for more cooperation.”

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She pointed to Russian activities in Ukraine and beyond and said that “it is up to Europe to define the future of our continent, and I think we have to take more responsibility for our own security.”

In its announcement on the Arctic and North Atlantic region, the Danish Defense Ministry said that the parties agreed to negotiate a second agreement in the first half of this year focused on strengthening deterrence and defense.

“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. “For this reason, we must strengthen our presence in the region.”

His ministry said ensuring that investments provide support for local jobs and businesses in Greenland and the Faroe Islands will be “a focal point.” 

Greenland’s government has insisted that the territory isn’t for sale but that it is open to cooperation. The Defense Ministry statement didn’t mention Trump’s ambitions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.