President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to move Greenland into the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility in a shakeup that comes as the president looks to acquire the Danish territory and the U.S. seeks greater control over Arctic regions.
On Tuesday, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the president recently ordered the change to the Unified Command Plan. The Unified Command Plan is a strategic document that establishes the missions, responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility for commanders of combatant commands.
The change shifts Greenland from the U.S. European Command area of responsibility to the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility.
“Consistent with the President’s intent and the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, this change will strengthen the Joint Force’s ability to defend the U.S. homeland, contributing to a more robust defense of the western hemisphere and deepening relationships with Arctic allies and partners,” Parnell said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly called for U.S. control of Greenland. Trump previously said that U.S. economic security depends on controlling Greenland and suggested buying or otherwise taking control of the autonomous territory.
“One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” Trump said during a joint address to Congress in March.
Greenland, where about 57,000 people live, is a fully autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland’s economy is dependent on Danish subsidies and fishing.
Experts say as ice melts in the Arctic, more shipping and military ship routes could open in the region, changing the global trade and the defensive relationship between the U.S. and Russia. More mining and drilling exploration could also open up.
In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson bought Alaska, he also considered buying Greenland. The U.S. also tried to buy Greenland in 1946. The United States proposed to pay Denmark $100 million in gold to buy Greenland, according to documents in the National Archives. The sale never went through, but the U.S. got the military base it wanted on the island.
Pituffik Space Base, previously known as Thule Air Base, is located in Greenland. Pituffik SB is locked in by ice nine months out of the year, but the airfield is open and operated year round. Pituffik exists due to agreements between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark, specifically addressing mutual defense, according to the Space Force.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen previously said “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
Trump previously said that he wouldn’t rule out military intervention or economic penalties to achieve his goals on Greenland and the Panama Canal.
