The Pentagon on Wednesday said it would not discuss plans to invade Greenland if ordered, after President-elect Donald Trump a day earlier did not rule out using military force to seize the autonomous territory of Denmark. I am not aware of it.”
“Of course we're not going to go into a what-if situation. I think that's something the incoming administration will talk about,” Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters when asked about contingency plans.
“We are concerned about the real national security concerns that face this building every day,” she added, citing U.S. support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, efforts to quell the Middle East conflict, and He cited India's need to slow down its challenges to China. Pacific.
Asked if the Pentagon had ever planned a military occupation of Greenland, Singh said: “I am not aware of any such plans.”
President Trump declared at a news conference Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, mansion that the United States needs both Greenland and the Panama Canal for national and economic security, but he has no idea which he will acquire. There is no concrete plan to do so.
Referring to Greenland, President Trump said, “We don't actually know if Denmark even has legal rights to it, but if they do, they should give it up because it's necessary for national security.” .
Asked if he could rule out military action or economic coercion to win over both countries, he said: “I can't guarantee either.”
“I'm not going to commit to that. We might have to do something now,” Trump said.
During his first term, President Trump mused about purchasing Greenland from Denmark, which has unified Greenland for more than 200 years. At the time, Denmark's prime minister rejected him, calling the idea “ridiculous.”
But the president-elect seems far more adamant about the idea this time around, with his son Donald Trump Jr. visiting the island of 57,000 people on Monday on a trip that does not involve any official government meetings. There is.
The island is considered valuable to U.S. national security interests due to its proximity to Russia and China's steadily increasing activity in the Arctic.
The last time the United States tried to buy Greenland was in 1946, when it offered Denmark $100 million in gold, which Denmark refused.
The United States has a military base on this island known as Pitafik Cosmodrome. The facility includes a year-round airfield and is part of a mutual defense agreement between Washington and Copenhagen.
Asked about President Trump's comments, outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday: “Obviously the idea expressed regarding Greenland is not a good one, but perhaps more importantly, it's clear it's not going to happen. So we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time.” talking about it. ”
