Denmark has announced plans to dramatically increase defense spending on Greenland, just days after US President-elect Donald Trump mentioned his desire to own the island.
RT quoted Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen on December 24 as saying that the country plans to spend "tens of billions" of krone, equivalent to at least 1.5 billion USD, to protect Greenland.
Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that the spending package includes two Thetis-class patrol boats, two long-range drones, two dog sled teams, additional Danish military personnel in Greenland and funds to upgrade one of Greenland's civilian airports.
Trump plans to expand US territory
“For many years we have not invested enough in the Arctic, now we are planning a stronger presence,” said Minister Poulsen. Mr. Poulsen affirmed that the decision to increase military spending in Greenland was planned in advance.
Earlier, in a post on the social network Truth Social on December 22, US President-elect Trump said that Washington's ownership and control of the icy island of Greenland was an "absolute need" for national security reasons. Greenland is an autonomous region but still depends on Denmark in many aspects such as defense and foreign affairs.
An area in the town of Tasiilaq in Greenland
Responding to Mr. Trump's post, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede affirmed that: "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long-standing struggle for freedom." Mr. Egede also expressed his readiness for cooperation and trade with the US.
During his first term, in 2019, Mr. Trump also proposed buying Greenland, which caused a strong reaction from Danish leaders. At the time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the idea as "absurd."
According to RT, Mr. Trump is not the first US president to propose buying Arctic land from another country. This idea was first proposed by the late US President Andrew Johnson in the 1860s. At that time, Mr. Johnson negotiated to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867.
Gaining control of Greenland would significantly expand US access to the Arctic Ocean. Currently, 50% of the Arctic coastline is Russian territory and the area is of strategic and sovereign importance to Moscow.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dan-mach-day-manh-chi-tieu-quan-su-cho-greenland-sau-khi-ong-trump-doi-mua-185241225104003196.htm
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