NATO members Arctic defense buildup to counter Trump's threats

Among the US president's proposed options for takeover is offering residents up to $100,000 each to secede and take US citizenship, which Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose

News Desk

JAN 9, 2026

https://thecradle.co/articles/nato-members-arctic-defense-buildup-to-counter-trumps-threats

NATO states are weighing steps to strengthen Arctic security after US President Donald Trump escalated claims over Greenland and refused to rule out using force to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory, POLITICO reported on 8 January.

According to three NATO diplomats who spoke anonymously to POLITICO, the issue was raised during a closed-door meeting of the alliance’s ambassadors in Brussels following recent statements from the White House asserting that Greenland is vulnerable to Russian and Chinese influence.

During the meeting, envoys agreed that NATO should reinforce its Arctic flank by improving intelligence and surveillance, directing more defense spending toward the Arctic, transferring additional military equipment to the region, and increasing the number of military exercises.

NATO states are weighing steps to strengthen Arctic security after US President Donald Trump escalated claims over Greenland and refused to rule out using force to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory, POLITICO reported on 8 January.

According to three NATO diplomats who spoke anonymously to POLITICO, the issue was raised during a closed-door meeting of the alliance’s ambassadors in Brussels following recent statements from the White House asserting that Greenland is vulnerable to Russian and Chinese influence.

During the meeting, envoys agreed that NATO should reinforce its Arctic flank by improving intelligence and surveillance, directing more defense spending toward the Arctic, transferring additional military equipment to the region, and increasing the number of military exercises.

The NATO diplomats also said that Europe is now scrambling to defuse the situation. 

A military intervention, Denmark has warned, would effectively spell the end of the alliance. As a result, European governments see reaching a compromise with Trump as the preferred and urgent option.

The request for new proposals came only days after the White House’s latest statements, underscoring what diplomats described as the existential risk any incursion into Greenland would pose to NATO and to transatlantic relations. NATO civil servants are now expected to draft concrete options for member states.

Trump has justified Washington’s campaign by pointing to Greenland’s raw materials and oil potential, as well as what he described as a threatening presence of Russian and Chinese ships near the island. 

However, experts cited by POLITICO largely dispute this assessment, noting that Moscow and Beijing have concentrated most of their military activity in the eastern Arctic instead.

Despite the stakes, diplomats said the tone of the Brussels meeting avoided open confrontation, with one participant describing it as “productive” and “constructive.”

Denmark’s ambassador framed the matter as a bilateral dispute with the US, while highlighting NATO’s existing Arctic strategy and the need for further work – an approach that received broad backing from other envoys.

EU capitals recently united in solidarity with Denmark, and Copenhagen is expected to brief EU envoys further at a meeting scheduled for the following day.