Days after Donald Trump’s threat to take over Greenland, Denmark's Defence Ministry on Friday issued warning, saying its soldiers would take up the fight immediately and open fire without awaiting orders from their commanders if anyone were to invade Danish territory. The statement from Denmark comes as the 1952 directive, one from the Cold War-era, explicitly states that troops must shoot first without waiting for commands in case a foreign force threatened a Danish territory, local newspaper Berlingske reported.
The 1952 directive was created when Nazi Germany attacked Denmark in April 1940, leading to a partial collapse of communications in the European nation, and has remained in place till date.
Trump repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland
The warning from Denmark comes as US President Donald Trump eyes Greenland, which is overseen by Denmark, and has repeatedly threatened to take control of the autonomous land by force if needed. Trump has also claimed that the Arctic territory is vital to the US national security due to the presence of Russian and Chinese ships.
Denmark says Greenland is not up for sale
However, Denmark and Greenland, have repeatedly said that the territory is not up for sale. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also warned that any military attempt at taking Greenland would mark the end of NATO. "If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops," she told Danish broadcaster TV2.
In the meantime, Denmark and Greenland's envoys to Washington have begun a vigorous effort to urge US lawmakers as well as key Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump's call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.
Denmark and Greenland's envoys White House officials
Denmark's ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland's chief representative to Washington, met on Thursday with White House National Security Council officials to discuss a renewed push by Trump to acquire Greenland, perhaps by military force, according to Danish government officials who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The envoys have also held a series of meetings this week with American lawmakers as they look to enlist help in persuading Trump to back off his threat. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet next week with Danish officials.
Trump, in a New York Times interview published Thursday, said he has to possess the entirety of Greenland instead of just exercising a long-standing treaty that gives the United States wide latitude to use Greenland for military posts.
“I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can't do with, you're talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can't get from just signing a document,” Trump told the newspaper. The US is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.
JD Vance says European leaders should take Trump seriously
Meanwhile, Trump's vice president, JD Vance, told reporters that European leaders should “take the president of the United States seriously” as he framed the issue as one of defense.
“What we're asking our European friends to do is take the security of that landmass more seriously, because if they're not, the United States is going to have to do something about it,” Vance said. Danish officials were hopeful about the upcoming talks with Rubio in Washington.
“This is the dialogue that is needed, as requested by the government together with the Greenlandic government,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR. The island of Greenland, 80 per cent of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people.
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