Denmark is increasing Greenland’s defense spending amid growing Arctic tensions, following the president-elect’s renewed push to acquire it.
The government of Denmark, which controls key aspects of the autonomous territory of Greenland, has announced a major boost to the Arctic island’s defense spending, just hours after President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase Greenland, citing security imperatives.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Dec. 24 that the defense package would amount to at least $1.5 billion, while calling the timing of the spending boost “ironic” in light of Trump’s recent remarks.
Trump said on Dec. 22 that U.S. control and ownership of Greenland—a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark—is “an absolute necessity” for “national security and freedom throughout the world.”
Denmark’s defense package includes new inspection ships, drones, dog sled teams, upgraded Arctic Command staffing, and an F-35 capable airport upgrade, according to Poulsen.
“We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he said.
Greenland, which runs its own domestic matters but whose foreign affairs including defense are controlled by Denmark, is strategically important to the United States. The former Danish colony is strategically located about halfway along the shortest route from Europe and Russia to North America. It’s home to a large U.S. space facility and its proximity to the Arctic means that it plays a pivotal role in monitoring and managing Arctic security.
The Arctic also serves as the shortest route for intercontinental ballistic missiles traveling between the United States and Russia, elevating Greenland’s importance as a strategic security outpost in the current period of heightened rivalry between global great powers.
During his first term, Trump also expressed interest in purchasing the strategically located Arctic island, which has a landmass approximately a quarter the size of the United States but a population of about 57,000.
The United States also made previous offers to purchase Greenland, first in 1867 and again in 1946 under President Harry Truman. Each time, Denmark refused.
Following Trump’s latest comment on wanting the Arctic island to come under U.S. control, Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede dismissed any suggestions that Greenland is for sale.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said in a Dec. 23 statement.
Chinese state media have identified Greenland as a critical strategic hub, citing its proximity to Arctic shipping lanes and its rich reserves of uranium and rare earth minerals. In 2019, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced its “Polar Silk Road” initiative—an extension of its Belt and Road Initiative—aiming to develop Arctic shipping routes and encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in regional infrastructure projects.
Economic ties between Greenland and China have grown significantly over the past decade, driven by efforts to expand Greenland’s mineral mining, oil and gas exploration, and tourism sectors. Greenland’s increasing dependence on China has coincided with Beijing’s broader Arctic ambitions.
Denmark and the United States are bound by the 1951 Defense Agreement, which gave Washington exclusive jurisdiction over defense areas within Greenland and the ability to enhance its surveillance of Arctic waters, central to NATO’s Arctic strategy.
Greenland is home to the Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, located in its remote northwest. The facility supports personnel from Denmark, Canada, Greenland, and the U.S. Space Force, serving as a hub for space surveillance activities. It also houses an Upgraded Early Warning Radar system, essential for detecting intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Russia, the Middle East, or missiles from North Korea and China that traverse the Arctic.