Britain and Germany are discussing a series of options to persuade the US to abandon its ambitions with Greenland, according to sources cited by Bloomberg and The Telegraph.
For many years, Mr. Trump has considered Greenland a strategic link in the Arctic, where the US needs to increase its presence to counter Russia and China. In his view, the geographical location of the island - located between North America and Europe - makes Greenland an "security asset" that cannot be ignored by Washington.
However, this approach has put Mr. Trump in a confrontational position with some European allies in NATO. Denmark - the country that has sovereignty over Greenland - has received clear support from many European countries, including Britain, Germany and France, who fear that unilateral US pressure will erode the foundation of the alliance.
According to Bloomberg, Berlin is pushing forward with a proposal for a common mission of NATO in the Arctic, tentatively called "Arctic Sentry". The core idea is to strengthen NATO's collective presence in Greenland and the surrounding region, thereby weakening Mr. Trump's argument that only the US is capable of ensuring security for the island.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is expected to directly discuss the above issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week. Speaking to reporters on January 11, Mr. Wadephul emphasized his desire to discuss how NATO can "best share responsibility" in the Arctic region.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that British officials have met with representatives of Germany and France in recent days to develop scenarios for a NATO mission in Greenland. These proposals were discussed at a NATO meeting last week.
The options proposed by London are quite diverse: From organizing joint military exercises, strengthening intelligence sharing, allocating targeted defense spending, to the possibility of deploying large-scale NATO forces to Greenland. However, sources emphasize that all plans are still in a very early stage.
Tensions escalated after Mr. Trump declared on January 10 that the US would win Greenland "whether they like it or not", and warned Washington that it is ready to do so "in a tough way" if necessary.
Although some media outlets say that the US is considering buying back the island and offering financial incentives to the people of Greenland, the White House has never ruled out the possibility of using force.
Notably, the Daily Mail reported that Mr. Trump has instructed senior military commanders to develop a plan for a scenario of infiltrating Greenland. This information, although not officially confirmed, has raised a wave of deep concern among European officials.
Many European officials, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, warned that any military action against the territory of a NATO member would weaken the unity of this alliance.
According to the Danish Prime Minister, such an attack not only violates the principle of collective self-defense but also raises a big question about NATO's future in the context of increasingly fierce global strategic competition.
