On January 5, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a tough statement: Any US military action targeting Greenland will be the end of the world security structure established since World War II.
The statement was made while public opinion was in panic after the US campaign in Venezuela. Immediately after that, Mr. Trump shocked again when affirming that controlling Greenland is an urgent requirement for US security.
In an interview with national television, Ms. Frederiksen did not hesitate to point out the "red line": If the US attacks a NATO member, the largest military alliance on the planet will disintegrate immediately. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective self-defense will become meaningless if the bloc's leading member turns its gun on its ally.
Greenland is currently home to the Thule Air Force Base - a key checkpoint in the Pentagon's early warning and missile defense system. In addition, the huge unexploited rare earth resource here is also the number one target that the US aims for to break its monopoly and reduce dependence on the supply chain from China.
Responding to the White House's public ambitions, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen made unprecedentedly tough statements. He asked Mr. Trump to give up the "annexion illusion".
In Nuuk, Mr. Nielsen reassured the people that Greenland is a long-standing democracy, not Venezuela, so that the US can act arbitrarily. He emphasized that threats, impositions and arrogant words have no place in the relationship between friends.
However, tensions are still escalating as Mr. Trump resolutely does not rule out the possibility of military intervention. On Air Force One on January 4, US President Donald Trump publicly criticized Denmark's defense capabilities as "weak", not enough to protect the island from the increasingly dense presence of Russian and Chinese warships.
Observers believe this is an inevitable consequence of the race for resources and position in the Arctic between the 3 superpowers US, Russia and China when ice melts and reveals new maritime routes.
Under pressure, Denmark is receiving strong support from the Nordic bloc and the European Union (EU). Both Brussels and London affirm that the principle of territorial integrity and the right to self-determination of the Greenland people are inviolable, and warn of an unprecedented diplomatic crisis in the West.
