‘You under invested in Greenland’: Vance slams Denmark for failing to keep territory safe from Russia, China

US Vice President JD Vance on Friday slammed Denmark for its lack of action regarding Greenland, claiming it has failed to effectively protect the semi-autonomous territory’s residents from incursions by China and Russia.

“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have under invested in the people of Greenland and you have under invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass,” AFP quoted Vance as saying at a press conference at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland.

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

“We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary. We think this makes sense,” he said, adding he believed Trump would be able to make a deal with Greenland.

Talking about ‘Signalgate’, which involved top national security officials adding a journalist to a chat group discussing planned strikes on Yemen, Vance shrugged off demands for sackings.

“If you think you’re going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, you’ve got another thing coming,” Trump’s deputy told reporters on a visit to Greenland.

“We are standing behind our entire national security team,” he added.

Vance delivered remarks during his visit to the US military base at Pituffik in the north of the Arctic island, 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.

Vance greeted members of the US armed forces shortly after his arrival, thanking them for their service on the remote base located 750 miles (1,200 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The outside temperature at Pituffik was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-19 C).

As Vance’s visit was underway, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House the United States 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,” Trump said.

Trump said Greenland’s waterways have “Chinese and Russian ships all over the place” and the United States will not rely on Denmark or anybody else to handle the situation.

Denmark and the European Union 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,” Trump added.

Greenland’s new prime minister said the US visit signalled a “lack of respect” and called for unity in the face of “pressure from outside”.

Denmark’s king 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,” King Frederik said.

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

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

Public protests and outrage from authorities in both 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 the Danish capital 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 operating 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 U.S. economy.

New government

Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Friday urged political unity.

“At a time when we as a people are under pressure, we must stand together,” Nielsen said 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 had called the initial plans for the U.S. visit “unacceptable”, congratulated Greenland on its new government in a post on Instagram: “I look forward to close cooperation in an unnecessarily conflict-ridden time.”

The question now is how far Trump is willing to push his idea of taking over the island, said 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 told Reuters.

“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 added.

Not for sale

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

“A change of course was needed,” Sendak told Reuters.

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

“I am a human. Humans are not for sale. We are not for sale,” Tungutaq Larsen, a filmmaker, told Reuters.

Polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States. 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 Thursday, residents in Nuuk planted Greenlandic flags in the snow and a cardboard sign in English that said “Our Land. Our Future”.

With inputs from agencies