In the wake of threats from US President Donald Trump, Denmark and its European allies have begun deploying troops to Greenland as part of ongoing efforts to bolster the island’s defences and signal unity.
While Denmark has started strengthening its military presence in Greenland, fellow Nato members Germany, Sweden, France, and Norway have pledged to send military personnel to the island this week. Additionally, Canada and France have announced they would open consulates in Greenland’s capital Nuuk within weeks.
As part of these efforts, the first contingent of Danish personnel has arrived in Greenland. The video of the C-130 Hercules military aeroplane arriving at the base in Nuuk has surfaced on the internet.
Soon after winning the 2024 election, Trump declared he would annex Denmark’s Greenland island. He said he would invade the island if needed. In recent weeks, particularly after the US invasion of Venezuela, he and his allies have ramped up their threats to invade and occupy Greenland. The White House has formally declared that military options are on the table and reports have said he could make a move within weeks.
The Nato members’ deployment to Greenland to shore up the island’s defences coincided with a meeting between US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt. After the meeting, Rasmussen said they had a “fundamental difference” over Greenland with the Trump administration.
As Greenland —as it is a part of Denmark— is protected by Nato’s collective defence principle, an attack by a fellow member, the United States, would essentially kill the alliance. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has previously said: “If the US chooses to attack another Nato country militarily, then everything stops, including Nato and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”
While Danish Defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Denmark would increase military activity in and around Greenland, Rasmussen said the kingdom was reinforcing security in the Arctic “by committing additional funds for military capabilities—not dogsleds, but ships, drones, fighter jets, etc”.
Separately, France warned the Trump administration that an invasion of Greenland would have a cascade of unintended consequences.
“If the sovereignty of a European ally were affected, the cascading consequences would be unprecedented. France is closely monitoring the situation and will act in full solidarity with Denmark and its sovereignty,” a spokesperson reported French President Emmanuel Macron as saying.
But Trump and the White House have continued to double down on their threats to invade and occupy Greenland. He has also threatened Greenlandic PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen with a “big problem” if he would not hand him the island.
Hours ahead of the US-Denmark meeting, Trump on Wednesday said that “the United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security”. He also went on to reject Nato’s relevance while making the case for American annexation of the island.
“Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, Nato would not be an effective force or deterrent — not even close! They know that and so do I. Nato becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States. Anything less than that is unacceptable,” said Trump.
