Donald Trump drops demands to own Greenland, but the harm has been done
A revised defence pact with Denmark and Greenland is a modest improvement, but annexation threats were a costly blunder.
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A new Danish-US agreement may have eased fears over an American takeover of Greenland but the negative sentiments remain.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Arctic is a safer place for America and its allies today. Due credit must go to President Donald Trump, a self-styled man of peace. He has, after all, lifted the shadow of imminent invasion from Greenland, the vast and hard-to-defend island that guards NATO’s high north. In the longer term a new defence agreement announced by the Trump administration, Denmark and Greenland on Sept 18 represents a modest advance on previous treaties.
It will make it easier for America to strengthen its military presence on the island, and to control encroachment on Greenlandic soil by China, Russia and other adversaries.