Danish Defense Minister Troels Lun Poulsen is in Greenland with his colleagues from Iceland and Norway for large military exercises with NATO countries, but without the participation of the US, which has claims to this Danish territory, the Danish Defense Ministry announced, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
"The current security policy situation requires a significant increase in the presence of armed forces in the Arctic and the North Atlantic", Lun Poulsen said.
In addition to the Danes, French, German, Swedish and Norwegian troops are participating in the military exercise "Arctic Light 2025" – a total of more than 550 soldiers, whose goal is to strengthen the operational capacity of the armed forces on the huge Arctic island.
The United States, which has an air base in the northern part of the island and has sharply criticized the lack of Danish investment in Greenland's defense, is not participating in the exercise.
In late August, Danish television revealed that at least three Americans associated with US President Donald Trump had been conducting influence operations on the polar island.
According to Lun Poulsen, the current exercise, coordinated with the Greenland government, "is a good example of the common commitment to strengthening the armed forces' ability to deal with threats in the Arctic."
Later, the minister told Te Fau 2 that the country intends to spend billions of Danish kroner on the purchase of a US reconnaissance aircraft. P-8.
Lun Poulsen said the ideal option would be a joint acquisition with other NATO members, but otherwise Denmark would acquire it on its own.
"We need to have a better idea of what is happening around Greenland and the Faroe Islands," he said, adding that the threat level "is increasing".
Denmark announced last week that it would invest 58 billion Danish kroner (nearly 8 billion euros) in air and missile defense systems, citing Russia's war in Ukraine as an argument.