Jan. 20 (UPI) — U.S. warplanes of the North American Aerospace Defense Command will soon arrive in Greenland for planned activities, the bi-national defense organization involving the United States and Canada said Tuesday, as President Donald Trump threatens the sovereignty of the autonomous island.
The aircraft of the United States and Canada were scheduled to arrive at Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. Space Force base, in Greenland in support of “various long-planned NORAD activities, building on the enduring defense cooperation between the United States and Canada, as well as the Kingdom of Denmark,” NORAD said in a statement posted to X.
“This activity has been coordinated with the Kingdom of Denmark, and all supporting forces operate with the requisite diplomatic clearances,” it added.
“The Government of Greenland is also informed of planned activities.”
Greenland is a self-governing island and territory of Denmark, which is a NATO partner, and both are covered by the alliance’s security guarantee. Denmark and the United States also share a defense agreement that gives the United States broad access to the island.
Despite the fact that there is a U.S. military presence on Greenland, Trump has long sought the territory for the United States, arguing it is necessary for national defense.
Since the U.S. military abducted Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicholas Maduro, in an operation earlier this month, Trump has been ratcheting up pressure on Europe to relinquish the land to Washington.
Europe, Canada and other allies have come to Greenland’s defense, supporting Denmark’s sovereignty over the world’s largest island. But Trump has responded by threatening a 10% tariff on goods from eight NATO nations that will increase to 25% in June over their opposition to his control of Greenland.
On Monday, Trump told European leaders that a reason for his push to secure Greenland that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” he said.
On Monday, ahead of expectations that European leaders will push back against his Greenland plan and threats of tariffs, Trump told reporters: “I don’t think they’re going to push back.”
“We have to have it,” he said. “They have to have this done. They can’t protect it.”
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