Analysts say the plan has been under discussion for a long time and should not be seen as a direct response to Trump’s comments.
So far, Denmark has been very slow to expand its military capabilities in Greenland, they say, but if the country cannot protect the waters around the territory from encroachment by China and Russia, US demands for greater control are likely to increase.
Army Maj. Steen Kjergaard of the Danish Defense Academy suggests that Trump may have intended to force Denmark to take such a step.
“Perhaps this will be caused by Trump’s renewed focus on the need for air and sea control around Greenland and internal developments in Greenland, where some are expressing a desire to look towards the US – the new international airport in Nuuk has just been opened,” he told the BBC.
“I think Trump is smart … he’s forcing Denmark to prioritize military capabilities in the Arctic by raising its voice without having to take on a very un-American welfare system,” he said, referring to Greenland’s heavy reliance on subsidies from Copenhagen.
Trump’s initial proposal in 2019 for the US to buy Greenland, the world’s largest island, drew a similarly sharp rebuke from leaders.
At the time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea “absurd”, leading Trump cancels a state trip to the country.
He is not the first US president to offer to buy Greenland. The idea was first floated in the 1860s during the presidency of Andrew Johnson.
