As part of the investment package, Denmark will fund three new war ships in the Arctic, two long -range drones capable of surveillance in large areas and greater admission to Basic Military Training in Arctic
Denmark announced on Monday that it will spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns, about two billion euros, to strengthen its military capacities in the Arctic – a decision that arises from the furor generated after the renewed interest of the US President Donald Trump in controlling Granelândia, a semi -autonomous Danish territory.
The agreement aims to “improve surveillance skills and maintain sovereignty in the region”, according to a statement from the Denmark Ministry of Defense.
“At the same time, support for the efforts of allies and NATO in the Arctic and the North Atlantic is essential to reinforce global security and defense,” the statement adds.
As part of the investment package, Denmark will fund three new war ships in the Arctic, two long -range drones capable of surveillance in large areas and greater admission to basic Arctic military training.
“We have to face the fact that there are serious challenges in security and defense in the Arctic and the North Atlantic,” said Troels Lund Poulsen, Minister of Denmark Defense. “For this reason, we have to reinforce our presence in the region. This is the objective of this agreement, which paves the way for new initiatives this year. ”
Vivian Motzfeldt, Gronesean Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, added that “Granelândia faces a mutation security scenario.”
The announcement arises after the European Union claimed that “it is not negotiating” the sovereignty of Granelândia
“No, we are not negotiating the question of Grolândia. Of course, we support our Member State, Denmark, and its autonomous region, Granelândia, ”said EU’s head of foreign policy Kaja Kallas.
USA change to more transactional approach
Trump, who took office on January 20, has previously described Granelândia’s control of the US as an “absolute need.” Both Grolândia and Denmark previously said that the island is not on sale.
The question to Kallas was asked on Monday, after saying at a press conference that Europe needed to “close rows” as “United States change to a more transactional approach” in their external relations.
The head of European diplomacy stresses that although the US is an “important ally” and America and Europe are “very interconnected,” “it’s not like someone is saying what to do and we were next.”
“We should not go into speculation about the ‘and if’, because that is not the current situation,” he said.
Granelândia has long been seen as fundamental to US national security interests, namely to repel a possible Russian attack. But during Trump’s first term, national security officials were particularly concerned about China’s activities in the Arctic, which at that time were a relatively new threat, a former Trump senior counselor told CNN.
Still, the American and Danish authorities said they do not understand the new president’s obsession with acquiring Gronelândia, which Trump called “an absolute necessity”, particularly because the US already has a decades defense agreement with the territory that has allowed to those USA build a significant military presence – including troops and radar systems – on the largest island in the world.
The authorities of Gronelândia and Denmark have manifested themselves strongly against Trump’s desire to obtain the island – although several Dane responsible have told CNN that they fear that the president is now taking the idea more seriously than when he presented it in your first term.
Despite these refutations, the debate about the future of Granelândia has been stirred by growing speculation about its independence movement.
In his New Year’s speech, Granelândia’s Prime Minister said the island should be released “from the shackles of colonialism”-although the speech did not mention the United States.
*Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Laura Paddison contributed to this article
