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The Danish government has announced a huge boost in defence spending for Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was a “double digit billion amount” in krone, or at least $1.5bn (\u00a31.2bn).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He described the timing of the announcement as an “irony of fate”. On Monday Trump said ownership and control of the huge island was an “absolute necessity” for the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, 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. It has major mineral reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poulsen said the package would allow for the purchase of two new inspection ships, two new long-range drones and two extra dog sled teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would also include funding for increased staffing at Arctic Command in the capital Nuuk and an upgrade for one of Greenland’s three main civilian airports to handle F-35 supersonic fighter aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defence minister did not give an exact figure for the package, but Danish media estimated it would be around 12-15bn krone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement came a day after Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n