NATO countries are boosting their military presence in Greenland after the Trump administration expressed sweeping concerns about whether Denmark’s territory is properly secured.
France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway are among the countries sending troops to participate in joint exercises as Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, seeks to increase military assets in the country’s Arctic territory. Canada and France have also said they plan to open embassies in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.
“It’s clear that it’s going to be a rotation, so that you’re there for a period of time, and then you can see other countries go in and participate in exercises,” Poulsen told broadcaster DR, adding that the intention of “Operation Arctic Endurance” is to “establish a more permanent military presence” in Greenland.
The development came as senior Danish and Greenlandic officials held a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. The meeting was set in motion when the United States suggested it would purchase Greenland or use military force to acquire it to boost the island’s security and protect it from Russia and China.
Significant disagreement about whether the U.S. needs to acquire the island to secure it properly lingered after the meeting on Wednesday. But Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussenere conceded he does share the Trump administration’s concerns about security in the Arctic region “to an extent.”
There is “definitely a new security situation in the Arctic and the high north,” and both nations share a “vision of keeping the Arctic as a low-tension region,” he said.
Trump previously joked that Denmark’s security additions to Greenland equate to “one more dogsled.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced during his annual speech to the military on Thursday that some French troops have already joined the Danish exercises planned as part of the Operation Arctic Endurance. He stressed “Europeans have a particular responsibility there,” due to Denmark’s NATO membership.
“France and the Europeans must continue to be present wherever their interests are threatened,” he said in a speech calling on France to boost defense spending, and warning that “we live in a world where destabilising forces have awakened.”
“To remain free, one must be feared — to be feared, one must be powerful,” Macron said. “And to be powerful in this brutal world, one must move faster and more forcefully.”
DENMARK AND US CREATE WORKING GROUP FOR ‘FUNDAMENTAL DISAGREEMENT’ ON GREENLAND
The Trump administration has formed a “working group” with Greenlandic and Danish officials to explore “if we can find a common way forward,” amid ongoing security concerns and backlash against U.S. ambitions to take over Greenland. Meanwhile, Trump has continued attempts to convince NATO that Greenland would be better protected under U.S. control.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security,” he said this week. “IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES.”
