Danish veterans hold silent march against Trump's remarks on NATO soldiers

China

Danish veterans hold silent march against Trump's remarks on NATO soldiers

2026-02-01 16:25 Last Updated At：18:07

Thousands of Danish veterans and their supporters held a silent march in Copenhagen on Saturday to protest recent controversial remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who had downplayed the contributions of NATO soldiers.

Last week, during an interview with Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, Trump dismissed European members' role in NATO, saying that "We've never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did -- they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."

Protesters, holding banners reading "No Words," proceeded from Kastellet fortress to the U.S. Embassy where protesters placed 52 Danish flags to honor servicemen killed in the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were angry that embassy staff on Tuesday removed 44 flags commemorating Danish soldiers fallen in Afghanistan.

Organizers opened with a short address, then a minute of silence before participants walked toward the U.S. Embassy.

"I came today to support our Danish veterans because of Trump, the way he treats his so-called allies, but he stomps all over us and enough is enough. First Greenland, now Danish veterans. We can't stand it anymore. We need to show some kind of support," said a protester.

U.S. officials said the removal of the flags was linked to security policy, and the flags were later returned. Protest organizers said the incident raised questions for some veterans and families about recognition and remembrance.

For many veterans and families, the flags were not decorations but names, memories, and proof that Denmark paid a real price alongside an ally.

"I got angry about that. I did actually, because it's something about me. But it's all the friends we lost down there and the family started to see that. That's why. That's why we're here," said a protester.

Organizers also pointed to broader tensions in U.S.–Denmark relations, including renewed discussion about Greenland, where Trump has again raised the idea of U.S. control, which has been rejected by both Denmark and Greenland.

"We have sent a clear signal as the Danish Veterans Associations and other organizations, 19 all in all being here together today, that we support Greenland sovereignty and the self rule which the Greenlanders eventually will decide upon their future, not any other nations," said another protester.

At the embassy gates, the march ended with a five-minute moment of silence.

China Coast Guard carries out law enforcement to safeguard national sovereignty: director-general

The China Coast Guard (CCG) has regularly carried out law enforcement operations against rights-infringement and provocative acts of certain countries as well as Taiwan secessionist activities to safeguard China's national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests over the past five years since the entry into force of China's Coast Guard Law, CCG Director-General Zhang Jianming said in Beijing on Friday.

Effective as of February 1, 2021, the Coast Guard Law provides a clear legal framework for Coast Guard operations at sea, marking a key milestone in strengthening the country's maritime rule of law.

Over the last five years, the CCG has carried out a total of 550,000 vessel operations and conducted over 6,000 aircraft sorties in maritime rights-protection missions with a clear legal basis, reinforcing standardized, law-based governance at sea, Zhang said at a press briefing to mark the fifth anniversary of the enactment of the law.

"[Over the past five years,] the China Coast Guard has worked to prevent and check rights infringement and provocative acts by the relevant countries, and powerfully deter Taiwan secessionist actions, to resolutely safeguard China's national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. Last year alone, the China Coast Guard conducted patrol operations covering 357 days in the territorial waters of Diaoyu Dao," said the director-general.

"[Over the past five years,] the China Coast Guard has regularly carried out rights-protection patrols in the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea, while maintaining law enforcement operations in waters around the Taiwan island and its affiliated islands, as well as in the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao and surrounding area," he said.