U.S. President Donald Trump continues his push to acquire Greenland, pressuring Denmark despite opposition. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance tours an American military base on the island, escalating the diplomatic row.
Donald Trump escalated pressure on Denmark to surrender control of the Arctic island of Greenland to the United States as Vice President JD Vance toured an American military base on the territory. “For international security, we have to have Greenland . It’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?’ We can’t,” Trump asserted in Washington during Vance ’s visit.
The US president, who has prioritized American territorial expansion in his second term foreign policy, claimed Chinese and Russian ships were “all over the place” in the waters surrounding Greenland and that Denmark couldn’t be relied upon to manage the situation. Trump stated: “Greenland is very important for the peace of the world, not us, the peace of the entire world. And I think Denmark understands it. I think the European Union understands it. And if they don’t, we’re going to have to explain it.” Vance traveled to the Pituffik Space Base along the northwest coast of the island on Friday, accompanied by his wife Usha, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. The trip was scaled back from an original plan for the US delegation to visit Nuuk, the island’s capital, and participate in a dogsled race.Vance addressed soldiers and reporters at the base, saying: “Our argument is very simple — it’s not with the people of Greenland. It’s really with the leadership of Denmark which has underinvested in Greenland and the security architecture. It really must change.” He further asserted that Greenlanders would be safer under the US security umbrella than under that of Denmark. “We do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland. We can’t just ignore this place. We can’t ignore the Russian and Chinese encroachment on Greenland,” Vance stated. The US vice-president tempered the rhetoric from Trump, who had previously refused to rule out utilizing military force to acquire the island. “We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary. We think it makes sense,” Vance said. He added he anticipates Greenlanders to choose independence from Denmark, and that there would then be “conversations” with the US. Upon arriving at the military base, Vance told soldiers: “It’s cold as shit here. Nobody told me.” Arctic experts indicate that China and Russia have both shown significantly heightened interest in the far north but there are few visible signs of them near Greenland. A Chinese company attempted to build several airports in Greenland but was replaced after Denmark stated it would finance them instead. Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, has acknowledged that her country hasn’t allocated sufficient funds to Arctic security but criticized Vance’s visit — which was shortened from three days to a few hours on the US base — as lacking respect. Following Vance’s speech, she stated his characterization “was not a fair way for the vice-president to refer to Denmark”, which she dubbed a “good and strong ally”. She added that Denmark was “ready — night and day — to cooperate with the Americans” on Arctic security. Vance’s visit to Greenland occurred as the island of 57,000 unveiled its new coalition government. “At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the new prime minister. The government has indicated it would seek talks with the US and Denmark about its future
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