US Vice President JD Vance hypes that Greenland is “critical” for the defense of the US and the world against possible Russian or Chinese missile attacks in an interview on January 7, 2026. Photo: Screenshot from YouTube account of AP

Amid the US’ pursuit of Greenland and worries about a US military takeover, US Vice President JD Vance reportedly again hyped that Greenland is “critical” for the defense of the US and the world against possible Russian or Chinese missile attacks. Such rhetoric is only a made-up excuse for the US’ hegemonic territorial claims on Greenland, a Chinese expert said on Friday.

BBC reported on Thursday that Vance claimed in an interview on Wednesday that the US’ missile defense infrastructure is partially dependent on Greenland. He further hyped that, “If God forbid the Russians and the Chinese -- not saying they're going to -- but if, God forbid, somebody launched a nuclear missile into our continent, they launched a nuclear missile at Europe, Greenland is a critical part of that missile defense.”

Vance then accused Europe and Denmark of having not “done a proper job of securing Greenland and of making sure it can continue to serve as an anchor for world security and missile defense.”

But BBC questioned Vance’s logic. It said that the US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in Greenland's north-western tip -- a facility that has been operated by the US since World War II. Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.

Hyping up Russian and Chinese missiles is just a piece of US rhetoric that is a made-up excuse attempting to justify its hegemonic claims on Greenland, Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Friday.

From a technical point of view, Greenland, located between North America and the Arctic, has been considered a key area where the US could detect and intercept some missiles that fly over the Arctic, which is previously believed to be the shortest route of missile attacks between major countries, but that has changed significantly with the development of missile technologies, Wang said. He noted that new-type missiles now have longer ranges that enable them to bypass the traditional Arctic route, and that hypersonic missiles could hardly be intercepted by contemporary missile defense systems.

Using another country’s territory as a shield is a move of hegemony, and missile defense cannot justify a potential occupation of another country, which is against the international law, Wang said.

This is not the first time that the US has mentioned China in its pursuit of Greenland. When asked to respond to US President Donald Trump's claims that the US needs Greenland and one of the reasons he gave was because it is "covered with Chinese ships," Chinese Foreign spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday urged the US to stop using the "China threat" as a pretext for itself to seek selfish gains.

In response to a question that the US has said again it is apparently considering military action to take Greenland, and again, it was mentioned that this was needed for national security and to deter China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday that China always advocates handling state-to-state relations in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

On the US hype of China’s intercontinental ballistic missiles in a draft Pentagon report in December, Lin said at a regular press conference at the time that China remains firmly committed to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense. China keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level required by national security and does not engage in any nuclear arms race with any country.