The Danish government has reportedly deployed military “reinforcements” to Greenland ahead of a high-stakes White House meeting to discuss the future of the territory on Wednesday.
According to a report from public broadcaster Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), the Kingdom of Denmark is sending military equipment and advance troops to Greenland in preparation for a larger deployment of Danish forces to the island.
However, the broadcaster questioned how large a deployment Copenhagen will be able to manage in Greenland, given that many of its forces, particularly soldiers in the Danish Army, have already been committed to other theatres, such as in the Baltic. No hard numbers have been placed on the redeployment yet.
Nevertheless, Denmark has been attempting to display a show of force to prove to U.S. President Donald Trump that it hasn’t left the enormous strategic island undefended from Russia and China, and in a bid to stave off U.S. military action to take control of Greenland if a peaceful deal cannot be made.
Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said of the troop build-up in Greenland: “We are now moving forward with the whole issue of a more permanent, larger presence in Greenland from Danish defence, but also with the participation of other countries.
“Just as we had in 2025, where we saw that other NATO countries participated in exercise and training activities in Greenland, we will also see this in 2026.”
President Trump has frequently mocked Denmark’s military presence on the island, quipping this week that the critical territory was being defended by “two dog sleds”.
The Trump administration has argued that possession of Greenland will be critical for the national security of the United States, with the territory being well-positioned as a major hub for operations in the ongoing space race with China, as well as a strategic base against naval or missile incursions into the Western Hemisphere.
President Trump has also pointed to the large deposits of rare-earth minerals in Greenland, which, if extracted by American firms, could help lessen China’s chokehold on the current international market.
U.S. ownership of the island would also prevent Beijing from seeking to extract Greenland’s resources itself should the Greenlandic people vote for independence and choose to align themselves with the communist country.
On Tuesday, the chairman of the semi-autonomous Greenlandic Parliament, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said that his country would prefer independence but would choose to remain under Danish control rather than be sold to the United States.
“We are in a geopolitical crisis. If we have to choose between the US and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the EU,” he said.
For her part, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that smaller countries should not live in fear of larger nations and that borders should not be changed by force.
“It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us,” she said.
Despite the tough talk from Copenhagen and Nuuk, it remains to be seen if opposition to the move will remain as intransigent after a financial deal is put on the table.
This will likely be a topic of discussion when Danish and Greenlandic officials meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here