Vance: Denmark failing to secure Greenland from Russia & China

Vice President JD Vance visits Greenland, saying that Denmark has not done a good job securing its massive island possession from China and Russia.

“Yes, the people of Greenland are going to have self determination. We hope that they choose to partner with the US because we’re the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, because their security is very much our security,” says Vance, according to CNN.

The vice president’s reception was about as chilly as the Greenland weather.

Vance’s visit was a very different trip than the cultural foray White House officials had originally planned for his wife, second lady Usha Vance.

“Instead of viewing a dog sled race as she had originally planned, the Vances visited the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, 1,000 miles from the capital of Nuuk. Miles away from any civilian population center, they were greeted by enthusiastic troops in the sub-freezing weather.”

“His remarks came just hours after a new broad government coalition that aims to keep ties with Denmark for now was presented in the capital, Nuuk,” Reuters reports.

Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the U.S. visit signalled a “lack of respect,” while Danish leaders expressed their commitment to Greenland.

“For many years we have stood side by side with the Americans under very difficult circumstances. Therefore the vice president’s description of Denmark is not a fair one,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement to Danish news agency Ritzau.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Vance “has a point that we haven’t done enough, but I’m a little provoked because it’s also the Americans who haven’t done enough.”

Rasmussen said that the U.S. today has a base with 200 soldiers, while during the Cold War the Americans had 17 military installations in Greenland with 10,000 soldiers.