Denmark (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Denmark’s prime minister warned that any US attack on a NATO ally would shatter alliance and post-war security order after Trump revived Greenland threats.
The US president stated on Sunday that the US needs Greenland “very badly,” following his military operation in Venezuela. This statement rekindled concerns about a US invasion of the mostly autonomous island, which was formerly a Danish colony and is now a part of the Danish kingdom. Copenhagen still has authority over Greenland’s diplomatic and security policies.
The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, issued a warning on Monday that “everything” would end if the United States attacked a NATO ally.
Her remarks followed a startlingly frank declaration by Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and accusing the US of “completely and utterly unacceptable” speech, saying,
“Enough is enough.”
“Threats, pressure and talk of annexation have no place between friends,”
said Nielsen in a social media post.
“That is not how you speak to a people who have shown responsibility, stability and loyalty time and again. Enough is enough. No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more fantasies about annexation.”
He stated that while Greenland was “open to dialogue,” it had to follow the proper procedures and adhere to international law, “not random and disrespectful posts on social media.”
Frederiksen described the US’s “unacceptable pressure” as a “unreasonable attack on the world community” and stated that her administration was making every effort to stop an attack on Greenland.
“You cannot go in and take over part of another country’s territory,”
she told Danish broadcaster DR, adding:
“If the US chooses to attack another Nato country, everything will stop.
I have said from the beginning that I unfortunately believe the American president is serious about this. I have also made it very clear where Denmark stands. And Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the USA.”
In both public and private, she had been “very clear” with Trump, Frederiksen said, adding that she will “do everything… to fight for the fundamental democratic values and the international community we have built.”
The EU, which declared on Monday that it would continue to defend the concept of territorial integrity, supported Nielsen and Frederiksen.
“The EU will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,”
the EU’s lead foreign policy spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, told reporters.
“These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them, all the more so if the territorial integrity of a member state of the European Union is questioned.”
Still, there’s adding pressure on Frederiksen, who’s over for a general election this time, to go beyond tactfulness and give further specific measures for Denmark’s response in the event of an irruption of Greenland.
Greenlanders should” prepare for the worst,” according to Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish congress and representative of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, indeed if she didn’t suppose an irruption was imminent.
Trump has been largely silent on the content in recent months, following his turndown to rule out military involvement to seize control of Greenland last time.
However, Trump’s remarks over the weekend and the US bombardment of Venezuela to apprehend its president, Nicolás Maduro, have rekindled concerns that he would carry out his threats.
“I am quite confident the US will protect Greenland as an independent nation when we want to become one,”
he said, adding that the Greenlandic government should be in dialogue with the Trump administration.
“Besides, the US can’t do anything to us that Denmark hasn’t done already.”
The US was charged by Danish intelligence services last month with threatening to use military action against its allies and using its economic might to “assert its will.” As the ice melts, three global superpowers—the United States, China, and Russia—are vying for control of the region’s minerals and other geopolitical resources, which is causing tensions in the Arctic to rise.
Denmark has received backing from its Nordic neighbors, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
“Only Denmark and Greenland have the right to decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland,”
stated Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden. Sweden is completely in favor of our neighbor.
What are Denmark’s military options to deter a US attack?
Denmark lacks believable military options to discourage a direct U.S. attack on Greenland due to vast difference in power protuberance, logistics, and horsepower.
Recent investments include long- range perfection strike munitions( e.g., implicit Tomahawk dumdums for frigates or JASSM- ER for F- 35s), eight advanced air defense systems, 16 fresh F- 35 spurts boosting the line to 43, two new Arctic vessels, a command center, and aquatic detectors all aimed at NATO deterrence against Russia but offering minimum check against U.S. forces.
Danish officers admit U.S. superiority in any conflict script, fastening rather on tactfulness, NATO incantation( Composition 5), confederated support from Europe, and structure defense training; intelligence reports now list the U.S. as a security concern, but emphasize boosting spending to affirm sovereignty rather than direct battle.
