{"id":226617,"date":"2025-01-29T04:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T04:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/faced-by-trumps-interest-in-greenland-denmark-will-increase-military-spending-in-arctic\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T04:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T04:59:15","slug":"faced-by-trumps-interest-in-greenland-denmark-will-increase-military-spending-in-arctic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/faced-by-trumps-interest-in-greenland-denmark-will-increase-military-spending-in-arctic\/","title":{"rendered":"Faced by Trump\u2019s Interest in Greenland, Denmark Will Increase Military Spending in Arctic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/28\/multimedia\/28denmark-wfch\/28denmark-wfch-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Faced by Trump\u2019s Interest in Greenland, Denmark Will Increase Military Spending in Arctic\" title=\"Faced by Trump\u2019s Interest in Greenland, Denmark Will Increase Military Spending in Arctic\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Deeply rattled by President Trump\u2019s insistence that he wants to acquire Greenland, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark met European and NATO leaders on a whirlwind tour on Tuesday, traveling to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to garner public support and discuss how best to respond to the sudden demands of one of Denmark\u2019s closest allies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Danes are seeking allied solidarity while at the same time urging their European partners in both the European Union and NATO not to inflame the situation and make matters worse before Mr. Trump\u2019s strategy becomes clear, if he has formulated one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFrederiksen doesn\u2019t want to get into a one-on-one fight with Donald Trump, because she will lose,\u201d said Ulrik Pram Grad of the Danish Institute of International Studies. \u201cShe\u2019s trying to get colleagues to commit to the fact that this is not just her problem, but a problem for Europe, if tariffs are imposed\u201d \u2014 referring to Mr. Trump\u2019s threat of tariffs if he does not get his way \u2014 \u201cand a problem for NATO, if an ally threatens to take away sovereign territory of another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Monday, just before Ms. Frederiksen set out on her journey, her government announced that it would increase military spending in the North Atlantic by the equivalent of $2 billion. The new spending has been planned for some time, but its announcement appeared to have been moved up in response to Mr. Trump, Mr. Grad said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Just days into his second term, Mr. Trump said he wanted the United States to take control of Greenland as \u201can absolute necessity\u201d for Western security and refused to rule out using military or economic force to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If Mr. Trump uses tariffs to pressure Denmark, the European Union could respond with countertariffs or even use a special \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_23_6804\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">anti-coercion instrument\u201d<\/a> adopted in 2023, which offers a range of countermeasures. But those are meant as a deterrent, and Denmark and the Europeans would much prefer some sort of deal with Mr. Trump \u2014 though one short of surrendering sovereignty. Many European officials are already comparing Mr. Trump\u2019s demands to how President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has insisted that Ukraine surrender Crimea and four other regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The European Union is itself divided, said Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the European Policy Centre in Brussels. \u201cThere will be some countries that will support Trump no matter what, given their ideologies and a bit of glee about how liberal democracies are under pressure,\u201d he said. The Danish prime minister\u2019s trip was more about \u201cshoring up support among like-minded countries\u201d and inside NATO itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So far Mr. Trump\u2019s threats are only words, Mr. Zuleeg noted. \u201cBut Europe is vulnerable, because the ultimate threat over our heads is the withdrawal of the U.S. security guarantee,\u201d which is more important than the interests of one country, he said. \u201cSo I suspect there will have to be an effort to give the U.S. something, some of the economic interests behind this extreme request, but not so far as to hand Greenland over to America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As for NATO, he said, \u201cthis will undermine the alliance, because it is simply not an acceptable way of interacting with allies and it will poison the well on other matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Washington remains a dominant actor. \u201cHow do you deter the United States of America, your chief security provider?\u201d asked Leslie Vinjamuri, who heads the U.S. and Americas Program at Chatham House in London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Frederiksen and her government have already offered the United States the chance to work together to enhance security around Greenland. The new spending announced on Monday includes three new Arctic naval vessels to patrol waters around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and two more long-range drones and satellites to improve surveillance of the area, according to the government\u2019s statement announcing the spending. There will also be training for young Greenlanders \u201cto take responsibility for preparedness,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,\u201d Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark\u2019s defense minister, said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But under existing agreements from 1951, as Mr. Grad of the Danish Institute pointed out, the United States has \u201calmost full military sovereignty over Greenland,\u201d where it already has a large military base. All Washington needs to do to take some kind of action is to consult with Denmark and Greenland, which would have no reason to object, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Saturday, the chairman of the European Union Military Committee, Gen. Robert Brieger, told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that \u201cit would make perfect sense not only to station U.S. forces in Greenland, as is currently the case, but also to consider stationing E.U. soldiers there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For NATO, there is a legitimate strategic issue about Greenland for allies to discuss, said Camille Grand, a former senior NATO official now with the European Council on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBut the Danes are America\u2019s best allies, who suffered serious casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting alongside the United States, and they buy American,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to find a more trans-Atlanticist country in Europe. So why bully the Danes? It looks like Crimea. You will say that Putin\u2019s behavior is unacceptable and people will say, \u2018What about Greenland?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Greenland, a gigantic island in the North Atlantic that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, has taken on strategic importance in recent years as Arctic ice melts, opening up shipping lanes for international business, warships and submarines. With some 60,000 inhabitants, Greenland has home rule, but Denmark is responsible for its foreign and defense policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Greenland has a strong independence movement that is likely to take heart from Mr. Trump\u2019s challenge to Denmark, but there is no indication that Greenlanders would then wish to hand over their independence to Washington. But an independent Greenland would very likely want a strong defense and economic relationship with the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAs a government our job is not to panic and figure out what the actual demands are,\u201d Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland\u2019s trade and justice minister, told Agence France-Presse. \u201cIf it is about military presence, the U.S. has been here for 80 years; we are not opposed to that. If it is about the minerals, it is an open market,\u201d she said, referring to the plentiful natural resources on Greenland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But \u201cif it is about expansionism,\u201d she said, \u201cwe are a democracy, we are allies, and we ask our allies to respect our institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the weekend, Ms. Frederiksen met with her Nordic allies \u2014 the leaders of Finland, Sweden and Norway. All, she said, \u201cshared the gravity of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Berlin on Tuesday, after his meeting with Ms. Frederiksen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany spoke about Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and said in German that \u201cborders must not be moved by force,\u201d then said in English: \u201cTo whom it may concern.\u201d He emphasized that \u201cDenmark and Germany are close friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Paris, Ms. Frederiksen met President Emmanuel Macron of France and later headed to Brussels to meet Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe clear message from friends in the Nordic countries and Europe, and also outside Europe, is that there must of course be respect for territories and the sovereignty of states,\u201d Ms. Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2. \u201cThis is crucial for the international community we have built together since the Second World War.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, had tougher words on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTrump will not have Greenland,\u201d he said. \u201cGreenland is Greenland. And the Greenlandic people are a people, also in the sense of international law.\u201d He added, \u201cThis is also why we have said time and again that it is ultimately Greenland that decides Greenland\u2019s situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Maya Tekeli<!-- --> contributed reporting from Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/28\/world\/europe\/greenland-trump-denmark-security.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deeply rattled by President Trump\u2019s insistence that he wants to acquire Greenland, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark met European and NATO leaders on a whirlwind tour on Tuesday, traveling to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to garner public support and discuss how best to respond to the sudden demands of one of Denmark\u2019s closest allies. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/28\/multimedia\/28denmark-wfch\/28denmark-wfch-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3206,177859,137233,23724,163575,13642,177860,63939,10923,3631,1120,3096,63938,2198,163751,137131,2436,52,1734],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226619,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226617\/revisions\/226619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}