‘Shoot first and ask questions later’: Denmark says troops will defend Greenland by force amid US threats

The standoff between Denmark and the United States over Greenland has shifted from political brinkmanship into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, with Danish officials warning that they would defend the Arctic island by force if need be, after President Donald Trump appeared to revive an idea to take control of the vast territory.

At the heart of the controversy is Trump’s suggestion that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, rich in strategic value, could either be purchased by the US or seized if Copenhagen refuses to agree. The White House this week said Trump was still considering military intervention as an option to make that happen.

In response, Denmark’s defence ministry has made its position unmistakable: Danish troops would not wait for orders if Greenland were attacked. The military’s Cold War-era rules of engagement mean soldiers are prepared to “immediately take up the fight” to repel any invasion without waiting for further directives.

Allies rally around Denmark

European leaders have rallied behind Denmark, saying Greenland’s future should be decided by Greenlanders and Denmark alone. Officials across the continent have criticised any notion of an American takeover as not only “unprecedented” but potentially destructive to Nato’s cohesion .

“We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio. “We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,” he added.

What the starting point of this conflict?

The crisis erupted after Trump reiterated his belief that the US needs Greenland for national security reasons, suggesting America could use any means necessary to ensure its interests are protected.

While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has framed upcoming talks with Danish officials as diplomatic, Trump’s vice-presidential allies have openly implied that force remains on the table.

Meanwhile, Greenland’s own political scene has been roiled by the surge in international attention. An opposition leader from the Naleraq party, who spoke to Reuters, proposed that Greenland should negotiate directly with the US without involving Denmark, arguing that Copenhagen’s mediation has only “antagonised both Greenland and the US

That idea, however, was immediately brushed aside by Greenlandic officials who stressed that legal constraints prohibit such direct talks without Danish involvement. A high-level meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic ministers is now scheduled for next week to try to defuse mounting tensions and set a steadier course for relations.