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Denmark is still not secure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambition to acquire Greenland, even though concerns about a possible American military takeover have declined, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
“The ambition hasn’t gone away,” Rasmussen said Thursday at Denmark’s annual political festival. “We’re not safe. We’re not.”
Rasmussen said the possibility that the U.S. could take Greenland by force had been a “real concern” earlier this year after Trump refused to rule out military action.
He said that the threat had since subsided but that Trump was continuing to pursue control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory through other channels.
His comments came as Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. entered a sixth month of diplomatic discussions largely focused on expanding security cooperation on the island.
Details of the negotiations have remained closely guarded.
Maj. Gen. Soren Andersen, head of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command in Greenland, said the territory currently had enough military bases and permanent personnel to support NATO operations and deter threats from Russia.
“The Danish Armed Forces have the installations we need for the defense of Greenland,” Andersen said in an interview.
He said defending the territory did not necessarily require a large increase in permanently stationed troops.
“There are other ways of operating that don’t necessarily require us to have our feet firmly planted on the ground in Greenland,” he said.
Andersen identified the main regional security challenge as monitoring Russian and Chinese submarine activity in the GIUK gap, the strategic North Atlantic area between Greenland, Iceland and the U.K.
Tracking that activity depends more heavily on surveillance systems than on additional ground forces, he said.
Ships, drones and surveillance aircraft can provide stronger deterrence without requiring large numbers of personnel, Andersen added.
Those assets can operate from Iceland and the U.K. rather than directly from bases in Greenland.
Denmark has pledged an additional 42 billion kroner, or about $6.5 billion, to strengthen the defense of Greenland following Trump’s renewed calls for U.S. control of the territory on security grounds.
Trump previously mocked Denmark’s defenses, saying its plans amounted to deploying little more than “two dog sleds.”
Andersen said relatively little new equipment had arrived in Greenland so far.
“There are still quite a few capabilities that are outstanding,” he said.
Denmark and Greenland are waiting to acquire military assets, including drones, maritime patrol aircraft and aerial refueling capabilities.
Andersen said they faced the same supply constraints affecting other countries seeking to expand their armed forces.
The first ground-based air defense systems have arrived, while the first coastal radar for Nuuk is expected next month.
Construction of a new port and military headquarters is also scheduled to begin this year.
The full military buildup is expected to be completed by 2033, Andersen said.
By then, almost every capability under the Joint Arctic Command is expected to have been renewed.
Denmark is moving forward with infrastructure, training and recruitment while accepting that new systems will become operational in stages.
Planned investments include Arctic ships, icebreakers, a nuclear monitoring station and an air warning radar in eastern Greenland.
Greenland has a population of about 57,000 and covers a vast, sparsely inhabited Arctic territory.
American officials are seeking to establish three new bases in southern Greenland, according to a BBC report cited in the supplied text.
Danish broadcaster DR also reported that a U.S. military officer visited a remote settlement to assess conditions for a possible military presence.
Andersen said the Danish military would evaluate any additional American bases created under a future security agreement.
The assessment would focus on how the sites could be used operationally and whether they would strengthen existing capabilities.
“Whether we can do something together with the Americans, whether they can build additional bases that would allow us to operate better than we do now, only time will tell,” Andersen said.
Tensions between Denmark and the U.S. escalated in January after Trump refused to exclude the possibility of military action to gain control of Greenland.
Denmark and other NATO members responded by sending troops to the territory.
The deployment was publicly described as a military exercise.
DR reported, however, that Danish troops carried live ammunition and were prepared to destroy airport runways to prevent U.S. forces from landing if Trump attempted to seize the island.
Andersen declined to address the details of the report.
He said the operation was intended to strengthen Greenland’s defenses.
The soldiers deployed at the time have since been replaced by other troops participating in exercises, he said.
Permanent military staffing levels in Greenland have not changed.
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