Denmark: US Forced Dominance over Greenland Is a Death Bell for NATO

JAKARTA - Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned that any US move to seize Greenland by force would be the death knell for the North Atlantic military alliance NATO.

In an interview with Fox News television, he denied the existence of the Chinese party on the island.

"I certainly don't expect that because, I think, it would be the end of NATO," Rasmussen said in response to a question about Copenhagen's response if Washington forcibly seized the Danish autonomous region.

Rasmussen, who recently met with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington to discuss Arctic security, stressed that although Denmark shared the US' concerns in the region, there were still limits that must be followed.

"I think, in 2026, you will certainly trade with people, but you will not trade people," said the Danish Foreign Minister, referring to the rights of indigenous people in Greenland.

Regarding the US' concerns about the presence of their geopolitical rivals in the Arctic region, Rasmussen strongly denied Beijing's influence in the region.

"We haven't seen any Chinese warships in this area for the past decade, and there has been no Chinese investment in Greenland at all," he said.

He also said that when he was prime minister, he had taken "personal intervention" to prevent Chinese infrastructure projects in Greenland to prevent the Chinese presence there.

According to Rasmussen, Greenland residents will not support independence or the transfer of their territory to the United States, given the extent of the social assistance program provided by the Danish government.

"I think the US is unlikely to finance the Scandinavian social security system in Greenland, to be honest," he said.

With Denmark still asserting its sovereignty over Greenland, Rasmussen confirmed that his party and the US had agreed to form a high-level working group "to explore possible next steps" that would respect the integrity of the Danish territory while responding to the ambitions of US President Donald Trump.

Rasmussen also said Denmark had invested extensively in the Arctic region, with last year's budget "almost reaching 8 billion US dollars" to ensure the region did not become a point of tension.