The Danish government has proposed buying two new Arctic observation vessels and increasing dog sled patrols to boost its military presence in Greenland, local media report, as US President-elect Donald Trump sets his sights on the island. Has happened.
Broadcasters DR and TV2 said on Friday that the government has also proposed upgrading the airport at Kangerlussuaq, a former US military base in western Greenland, to accommodate F-35 fighter jets.
Denmark has already set aside $400 million to strengthen surveillance and intelligence in the Arctic and North Atlantic with long-range drones.
Trump this week reiterated his ambition to gain control over Denmark’s semi-autonomous Arctic region of Greenland, which the incoming US president sees as vital to US security.
Denmark is responsible for the safety and defense of Greenland, but its military capabilities on the vast island are limited. Currently, these include four aging observation ships, a Challenger surveillance aircraft and 12 dog sled patrols tasked with monitoring an area four times the size of France.
The tradition of using sled dogs for patrolling in Greenland dates back to World War II, with the patrol being a specialized unit of the Royal Danish Navy.
defense spending talks
After more than a decade of deep cuts in defense spending, last year Denmark allocated 190 billion Danish crowns ($26 billion) for its military over a ten-year period, some of which will be for the Arctic.
Danish lawmakers began long-delayed talks on Friday over how to divide the funds, which are being allocated progressively through political agreements. The discussion, which began on Friday, focused on how much of the budget should go to Greenland’s defense needs.
Earlier this week, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he looked forward to informing Trump about Denmark’s “massive” military buildup since his previous term as president.
However, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen acknowledged on Thursday that needed military investments had been “neglected for many years”.
Poulsen said last month that more money should be allocated to Denmark’s military presence in the Arctic, though he did not provide specifics.
“The US has real concerns, and there are some very concrete, big problems with respect to Greenland,” defense analyst and retired Navy commander Jens Wenzel Christophersen told Reuters.
“The US needs to feel secure in the region, and if Denmark doesn’t do something about it, they’ll have to deal with it themselves.”
The US military maintains a permanent presence at Pitfik Space Base, northwest of Greenland. This strategic location is important for the US military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America passes through the island.
On Thursday, the US Embassy in Copenhagen said there were no plans to increase the US military presence in Greenland.
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