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When asked if they wanted to become part of the United States, 85% of Greenlanders said no, according to the poll published in the Danish Berlingske and Greenland’s Sermitsiaq dailies.
6% of those polled said they were in favor and 9% were undecided, according to the poll conducted by the Verian agency.
“It’s the first poll that asked a representative section of Greenland’s population and I think this is very important,” Kasper Moller Hansen, a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen, told AFP. “I think this poll shows very clearly that they do not want to be American.”
Denmark said on Monday it would spend 14.6 billion Danish crowns ($2.05 billion) boosting its military presence in the Arctic, following renewed, opens new tab interest by U.S. President Donald Trump in controlling Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
This month, Trump said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island.
Following more than a decade of drastic cuts in defence spending, last year Denmark allocated 190 billionDanish crowns ($26 billion) for its military over a 10-year span, part of which has now been allocated to the Arctic.
Denmark, while responsible for Greenland’s security and defence, has limited military capabilities on the vast island, widely regarded as a security black hole.
At present, Denmark’s capacities include four ageing inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and 12 dog sled patrols, all tasked with monitoring an area four times the size of France.
The deal includes funding three new Arctic navy vessels doubling the number of planned long-range surveillance drones to four, as well as satellite surveillance, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a press conference.
Greenland is already part of a power struggle in the Arctic. As its ice melts due to global warming, the battle for its natural resources is also heating up – enormous oil and gas deposits are believed to lie under its seas. Russiaand China have already increased their Arctic mining activities and military presence, and the region may soon offer new shipping routes between the US and Europe.
Europe is facing a serious situation. With war on the continent and shifts in the geopolitical reality. In moments like this, unity is crucial,” Frederiksen said in a statement.
She said she would be meeting with French President Emmanuel Macronand German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well as with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the NATO transatlantic defence alliance.
“Denmark is a small country with strong allies. And it is part of a strong European community where together we can meet the challenges we face,” Frederiksen said.
The announcement and visit come after Trump earlier this month expressed interest in controlling Greenland and the Panama Canal and refused to rule out using military force to do so.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he said.
