COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark said on Monday it would spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns ($2.05 billion) boosting its military presence in the Arctic, following renewed interest by U.S. President Donald Trump in controlling Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
This month, Trump said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island.
Following more than a decade of drastic cuts in defence spending, last year Denmark allocated 190 billion Danish crowns ($26 billion) for its military over a 10-year span, part of which has now been allocated to the Arctic.
Denmark, while responsible for Greenland’s security and defence, has limited military capabilities on the vast island, widely regarded as a security black hole.
At present, Denmark’s capacities include four ageing inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and 12 dog sled patrols, all tasked with monitoring an area four times the size of France.
The deal includes funding three new Arctic navy vessels doubling the number of planned long-range surveillance drones to four, as well as satellite surveillance, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a press conference.
The political parties agreed to set aside more money for the Arctic in a deal that will be presented in the first half of the year.
The U.S. military has a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.
($1 = 7.1158 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Isabelle Yr Carlsson; Editing by Alex Richardson and David Gregorio)
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