US Vice-President Vance slams Denmark for not keeping Greenland safe from Russia, China

PITUFFIK, Denmark – US Vice-President J.D. Vance slammed Denmark during a visit to Greenland on March 28, saying it has not done a good job in keeping the semi-autonomous Danish territory and its people safe from incursions by China and Russia, while pledging respect for Greenland’s sovereignty and asking its people to partner with the US.

He added that Washington does not have immediate plans to expand US military presence on the ground in Greenland but will invest in resources including additional naval ships.

“Denmark has not kept pace and devoted the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and other nations,” Mr Vance said.

Noting that Russia, China and other countries are taking an “extraordinary interest” in Arctic passageways, naval routes and minerals in the region, he added that the US will invest in more resources, including naval ships and military icebreakers.

Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the US visit signalled a “lack of respect” and called for unity in the face of “pressure from outside”.

Denmark’s King Frederik X issued a statement of support on social media. “We live in an altered reality. There should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connectedness to the people of Greenland are intact,” he said.

Mr Vance delivered remarks during his visit to the US military base at Pituffik, which came just hours after a new broad government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now was presented in the capital, Nuuk.

He greeted members of the US armed forces shortly after his arrival, thanking them for their service on the remote base located 1,200km north of the Arctic Circle.

The outside temperature at Pituffik was minus 19 deg C.

Mr Vance also pledged the people of Greenland will have “self-determination”, and that the US will respect its sovereignty.

“We hope that they choose to partner with the United States, because we’re the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, because their security is very much our security,” he said.

As his visit was under way, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that

the US needs Greenland

to ensure “peace of the entire world”.

“We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of ‘Do you think we can do without it?‘ We can’t,” he said.

Mr Trump added that Greenland’s waterways have “Chinese and Russian ships all over the place” and the US will not rely on Denmark or anybody else to

handle the situation.

Denmark and the EU understand why Greenland is important for peace around the world “and if they don’t, we’re going to have to explain it to them”, he said.

The US delegation also includes Mr Vance’s wife Usha, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The initial plan for the trip had been for Mr Vance’s wife to visit a dog-sled race on the island together with Mr Waltz, even though they were not invited by the authorities in Greenland or Denmark.

Public protests and outrage from the authorities in Greenland and Denmark prompted the US delegation to only fly to the military base and not meet the public.

Under the terms of a 1951 agreement, the US is entitled to visit its base whenever it wants, as long as it notifies Greenland and Copenhagen. Pituffik is located along the shortest route from Europe to North America and is vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.

The island, whose capital is closer to New York than to Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. But development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited US investment.

Mining companies in Greenland are mostly Australian, Canadian or British.

A White House official has said Greenland has an ample supply of rare earth minerals that would power the next generation of the US economy.

New government

Greenland’s new Prime Minister on March 28 urged political unity. “At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together,” said Mr Nielsen at a press conference.

His pro-business party, the Democrats, which favours a gradual independence from Denmark, emerged as the biggest party in a March 11 election.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who

called the initial plans for the US visit

“unacceptable”, congratulated Greenland on its new government on Instagram: “I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-ridden time.”

The question now is how far Mr Trump is willing to push his idea of taking over the island, said Mr Andreas Oesthagen, a senior researcher on Arctic politics and security at the Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute.

“It is still unlikely that the United States will use military means,” he added.

“But it is unfortunately likely that President Trump and Vice-President Vance will continue to use other means of pressure, such as ambiguous statements, semi-official visits to Greenland and economic instruments,” he said.

‘Not for sale’

By revising the trip, the Trump administration is seeking to refocus the discussion on the topics it is interested in: the US presence on Greenland, military capabilities available, and the wider security of the Arctic, said Ms Catherine Sendak. She is head of the Transatlantic Defence and Security programme at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank.

“A change of course was needed,” she added.

However, some residents in Nuuk remained angry at the Trump administration ahead of Mr Vance’s visit.

“I am a human. Humans are not for sale. We are not for sale,” film-maker Tungutaq Larsen said.

Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the US. Anti-American protesters, some wearing “Make America Go Away” caps and holding “Yankees Go Home” banners, have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen in Greenland.

On March 27, residents in Nuuk planted Greenlandic flags in the snow and a cardboard sign in English that said “Our Land. Our Future”. REUTERS