Denmark upgrades security with $1.5 billion Arctic Defense package as Trump eyes Greenland 

President-elect Donald Trump has yet again ignited the chatter around America buying Greenland, the world’s largest island between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

It is 80 percent covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large US military base. It gained home rule from Denmark in 1979 and has a population of approximately 56,000.

In a recent statement, Trump expressed his desire to see Greenland as part of the US by the end of his second term. He has appointed PayPal co-founder Ken Howery as the US ambassador to Denmark to help advance this initiative.

“For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said. Earlier, in 2019, Trump canceled a visit to Denmark after Copenhagen rejected his offer to buy Greenland.

Following Trump’s remarks, Denmark has announced a substantial investment to strengthen Greenland’s defenses, including the addition of two elite sled dog teams.

Danish defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that Copenhagen plans to spend $1.5 billion on the new defense package.

“For many years we have not invested enough in the Arctic, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he said. While this package aligns with Trump’s resurgence of interest in purchasing the island, Danish officials have clarified that these plans are not connected.

The Danish investment will also involve the purchase of two new patrol boats and two long-range drones to enhance Greenland’s security.

Denmark has a longstanding tradition of utilizing sled dog teams for patrol duties in Greenland since World War II, exemplified by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite unit within the Royal Danish Navy.

The plan also includes increasing personnel at Denmark’s Greenland command and upgrading airports to accommodate F-35 fighter jets.

Its head of government, Mºte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump’s latest calls for US control would be as meaningless as those made in his first term.