Denmark said Wednesday it is expanding its military presence and exercise activity in and around Greenland “from today,” with help from NATO allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump keeps pressing the idea that the United States should control the Arctic island.
The Danish Ministry of Defence said the buildup is tied to 2026 training that could include guarding critical infrastructure, assisting Greenland’s local authorities (including police), receiving allied troops, deploying fighter aircraft, and conducting naval operations. The ministry said the goal is to improve the ability to operate in Arctic conditions and “strengthen the alliance’s footprint” in the region.
Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, said defense and security in and around Greenland should be strengthened “in close cooperation with our NATO allies,” while keeping Greenlanders informed once exercises begin, the Danish Ministry of Defence statement said. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said security in the Arctic is “of crucial importance” and that Denmark and allies will explore how a larger presence and more activity can be implemented “in the coming weeks,” the statement said.
Sweden confirmed it is sending personnel at Denmark’s request. In a post on social media platform X, Sweden’s prime minister said Swedish officers arriving in Greenland are part of a broader allied group preparing for the Danish exercise “Operation Arctic Endurance.”
Other allied contributions are also moving. A reconnaissance team of 13 German personnel is expected to deploy to Greenland on Thursday, while about 15 French soldiers were already in Nuuk for an exercise, The Associated Press reported.
The deployments come after talks in Washington between Danish and Greenlandic officials and senior U.S. officials ended without resolving the dispute. Trump told reporters after the meeting that the U.S. “really need[s]” Greenland for security reasons, AP reported.
Trump named Russia and China as possible threats in the Arctic, but both countries disagreed with that view. In a Q&A posted by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia’s embassy in Belgium said NATO is accelerating militarization in the Arctic under a “fictitious” pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing, and argued there have been no confirmed sightings of Russian or Chinese submarines near Greenland in recent years.
China’s Foreign Ministry also pushed back. At a regular briefing, spokesperson Mao Ning said the Arctic concerns the “common interests of the international community,” described China’s Arctic activities as lawful and focused on peace and sustainable development, and said the United States “should not use other countries as a pretext for seeking selfish gains,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Denmark and the U.S. already have a longstanding legal framework for U.S. access and basing tied to Greenland, including agreements that build on the 1951 defense arrangement outlined by the U.S. State Department.
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