Amid repeated calls by US President Donald Trump to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory under Denmark, France said it had discussed the possibility of deploying troops to the Arctic territory.
Ahead of his inauguration as President, Trump said in a speech that the US needs Greenland for its ‘national security’ and to protect the ‘free world.’
While making a case for Greenland coming under the US administration, Trump indicated that he would not renounce the possibility of military or economic coercion to take control of the territory.
Dismissed as a meaningless controversy at first, Trump’s repeated threats about wresting control of Greenland have left the world flabbergasted. Nearly all European countries have unanimously condemned Trump’s threats.
For instance, reacting sharply to Trump’s remarks earlier this month, France said the US President should not attempt to threaten the European Union’s borders.
With Trump threatening annexation of Greenland, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has now revealed in an interview with France’s Sud Radio that his country discussed with Denmark the possibility of sending troops to Greenland. However, Barrot clarified that while France had started the talks for the deployment of troops, Denmark was not on board with the idea.
“We are a strong continent; we must become stronger,” Barrot said. He also promised that Europe would stand in defense of international law. “There is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be, attack its sovereign borders,” he emphasized while responding to Trump’s comments.
The latest development concerning the deployment of French troops comes when the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, is on a whirlwind tour of European countries to marshal support against Trump’s stance on Greenland.
Frederiksen met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on January 28, after which she told reporters that she had received “a great deal of support.” She also met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Germany and NATO chief Mark Rutte on the same day.
While the European countries are united against Trump’s incendiary threats, the French offer to deploy troops to Greenland may spark a new row between France and the US.
In fact, Greenland could emerge as a point of contention between the two historic allies.
“If Denmark calls for help, France will be there,” Barrot was reported as saying. “The European borders are sovereign whether it’s north, south, east and west … nobody can allow themselves to mess around with our borders.”
Despite being traditional allies since the World War era, the two countries have often failed to see eye to eye. The relationship between French President Macron and US President Trump has been particularly tense with disagreements on issues such as the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal, and trade tariffs, to name just a few.
More recently, Macron lambasted Trump’s proposal to “forcefully displace” the people of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
The Threat To Greenland Bigger Than Ever
Donald Trump first proposed purchasing Greenland from Denmark in 2019, only to be rebuffed by the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
However, this time, the president seems to mean business and is determined to fulfill his long-held dream of making Greenland the 51st state of the United States of America.
“I think we’re going to have it,” Trump said over the weekend. “I don’t really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn’t allow that to happen because it’s for the protection of the free world.”
Greenland is the largest island in the world, situated between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Ironically, its capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
Despite that, Greenland is a part of Denmark. In 1921, the US confirmed Denmark’s sovereignty over most of Greenland in return for Copenhagen agreeing to sell the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean to the US. Greenland became self-governing in 1979 and was later granted autonomy.
However, Denmark still manages foreign, defense, and security policies. Thus, threatening an annexation represents a direct assault on Danish territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland has military and economic dimensions. Due to its location in the Arctic, Greenland is a strategic territory for monitoring polar airspace, which is likely to be traversed by hostile military aircraft or intercontinental ballistic missiles in case of an attack on North America. Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasized that he needs Greenland for national security.
Greenland is seen as essential for the US ballistic missile early warning system against possible military threats, notably those from Russia. However, it is pertinent to note that the US has a permanent military base, Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), in Greenland.
Beyond military use, the territory would be extremely useful for trade and navigation. The island is located near the Northwest Passage sea lane, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans or North America and Europe.
With Arctic ice sheets melting due to global warming, a new, much shorter northern shipping route through the Arctic would soon connect Europe with North America, giving Greenland a central role. This trade route will also cut US dependence on alternate routes, like the Panama Canal.
However, the people of Greenland do not want Trump to take over. According to the latest poll, 85 percent of the local population opposes becoming part of the United States. Additionally, Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede said, “We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlanders.”
Denmark has launched an effort to protect Greenland from Trump, including a huge hike in defense spending. On January 27, it announced that it would spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns, or $2.05 billion, to boost its military presence in the Arctic. The move aims to enhance the Danish military presence over the territory.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced in a press conference that the latest funding will be used to acquire three new Arctic navy vessels, double the number of planned long-range surveillance drones to four, and expand satellite surveillance.
Additionally, Copenhagen is also assessing the possibility of deploying newly-revived F-35 stealth fighters in Greenland amid rising geopolitical competition over the Arctic.
In addition to beefing Greenland’s security and shoring up support among allies, Denmark is also steadfastly standing up against Trump. The Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on January 28: “Trump will not have Greenland. Greenland is Greenland. And the Greenlandic people are a people, also in the sense of international law.”
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