By Gitika Sharma
Senators on Friday sponsored historic legislation prohibiting any federal seizure or occupation of Greenland or other NATO ally territories without permission.
Co-sponsored by Republican Sen, Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Sen, Jeanne Shaheen, the NATO Unity Protection Act would prohibit the Pentagon and State Department from spending U.S. dollars to blockade, annex, occupy or otherwise control the sovereign territory of a NATO member state.
The bill follows an upturn in tension since President Donald Trump has said again and again that for national security reasons the United States needs control over Greenland, and that anything less than control was “unacceptable” and that strategic rivals, such as Russia or China, could take advantage of it. Greenland is a self-governing part of Denmark but a NATO member too, and Danish officials have strongly opposed a possible sell-off of the island or handing it over to its new owners.
In response to the remarks of Donald Trump, Greenland’s leader reaffirmed ties of the island to Denmark, NATO, and the EU, arguing that the Greenlanders don’t want U.S. rule. Supporters of the bill argue that unilateral actions undertaken by the United States against an ally would go against the North Atlantic Treaty, fracture the transatlantic alliance, and grant strategic advantage to adversaries. Murkowski said the strength of NATO, which would face challenges in the future, depends on mutual respect and common defense. Shaheen said U.S. taxpayers should not finance military actions that could divide the alliance and cause unnecessary violence.
Similarly, House of Representatives lawmakers have proposed some of those same measures, hoping to restrict the amount of federal money that can be used for military action or acquisition of allied soil, prompting debate between Congress during a period of heightened bipartisan anxiety about executive power and military overreach. Diplomatic tension is also occurring abroad.
European allies have said that aggressive moves to dominate Greenland might hurt NATO and transatlantic relations, leading up to talks among all sides about developing alternatives for Arctic security. The Senate bill is a rare sign of bipartisan agreement in Washington, to come to the Capitol and to others to reaffirm alliance treaties and temper presidential authority on issues of war and peace.
If enacted, the legislation would establish protections for unauthorized military incursions into NATO soil for U.S. policy interests in U.S. law, creating a legal barrier to another attempt to take over allied territory without Americans’ consent.