Greenland ice Photo: VCG

 

The Danish government has announced a huge boost in defense spending for Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory, the BBC reported on Wednesday. Such development also came shortly after Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal. 

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was a "double digit billion amount" in krone, or at least $1.5 billion, the BBC report said. 

Trump on Sunday commented on the status of Greenland, saying "the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity," Trump wrote on Truth Social, Reuters reported on Monday. He had made similar comments in 2019 during his first term as US president, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Monday.

In response to the president-elect's comment, Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said that the island is "not for sale and will never be for sale," Reuters reported. 

Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, believes that Denmark's defense spending increase is still primarily influenced by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Cui told the Global Times.

In addition, as during his first term, Trump discussed the possibility of buying Greenland. Denmark's latest actions may also be aimed at addressing the uncertainties that could arise during Trump's upcoming second term, the expert noted.

Greenland is home to a large US space facility and is strategically important for the US, lying on the shortest route from North America to Europe, and has major mineral reserves, according to the BBC. 

"Greenland is not only large in area but also rich in resources, and more importantly, has exclusive rights to surrounding waters. If it were turned into a strategic base for the US, it would have a substantial impact on the surrounding region," Cui said, adding that economic factors combined with geopolitical considerations are reasons behind Trump's statement.  

Trump's statement followed the release of a new US Arctic Strategy in July this year, marking the first update to the region since 2019, according to the US Department of Defense website. 

Trump's remarks about the status of Greenland are among a series of recent statements that challenged the territories of other sovereign countries. He threatened on Sunday to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, which he called a "vital national asset" for the US. It drew a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino. 

"As president, I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama and will remain so. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable," Mulino said in response to Trump's claim on Sunday in a video he published on his X account, Anadolu Agency reported. 

In the past week, Trump has also taunted Canadian officials by suggesting the US could absorb its northern neighbor and make it the 51st state, according to CNN.