Russia's Arctic militarization behind Trump's focus on Greenland

Nuuk, Greenland — 

A blizzard whips the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe Islands flags supra the Joint Arctic Command office overlooking the harbor of Nuuk, the superior of Greenland.

The tiny subject outpost staffed by astir 80 unit oversees Danish information for the immense Arctic land of immoderate 2.1 cardinal quadrate kilometers.

Greenland’s authorities is mostly autonomous, but the land is portion of the Danish Kingdom, and Denmark retains work for its security.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made wide his determination to instrumentality ownership of the land for the United States and hasn’t ruled retired utilizing economical oregon subject force.

Speaking hours aft his inauguration, Trump reiterated his presumption that U.S. power was indispensable for “international security” because, helium explained, “You person Russian boats each implicit the place. You person China boats each implicit the place, warships. And [Denmark] can't support it.”

Russian missiles

The United States has agelong viewed Greenland arsenic vitally important for its defense, explained Marc Jacobsen, an expert astatine the Royal Danish Defense College successful Copenhagen.

“There's nary uncertainty that it's geostrategically important successful defending the U.S. nationalist information against Russian missiles,” Jacobsen told VOA. “The shortest way for Russian missiles towards the U.S. is via the North Pole, via Greenland.”

Russia has invested heavy successful its Arctic subject footprint successful caller years. Its northernmost Nagurskoye aerial basal connected Siberia’s bluish seashore hosts nuclear-capable strategical bombers, rocket and surveillance systems.

Russian atomic submarines patrol the Arctic seas, portion a increasing fleet of nuclear-powered crystal breakers projects Kremlin powerfulness crossed the region.

China and Russia person conducted associated subject drills successful the Arctic. Beijing is besides seeking entree to invaluable minerals beneath the ice.

“There is decidedly a threat, particularly from Russian subject capacities successful that region. And NATO countries are close present moving to summation their capacity,” Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, besides of the Royal Danish Defense College, told VOA.

Denmark’s defense

Denmark’s subject capabilities connected Greenland dwell of 4 aging naval patrol vessels, a surveillance level and canine sled patrols.

Copenhagen announced plans past period to put successful caller surveillance drones, 2 caller ships and further personnel, on with upgrading an existing aerial basal to accommodate F-35 combatant jets. The nonstop outgo has yet to beryllium decided, but the authorities said it would walk a “double-digit cardinal amount” successful Danish kroner, oregon astatine slightest $1.5 billion.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen admitted, however, that the authorities has failed to put successful Greenland’s security.

“We person neglected for galore years to marque the indispensable investments successful our ships, successful the craft that volition assistance to show our kingdom, and that is what we are present trying to bash thing about,” helium told reporters connected Jan. 9.

“We volition hopefully make an concern bundle wherever we volition fortify our quality to show what is happening successful the Arctic, and besides for immoderate caller capacities to beryllium enactment into place.”

Denmark hopes the upgrades volition spell toward “meeting American demands for expanding the surveillance of Greenland,” Jacobsen said.

US Space base

The U.S. subject has been contiguous successful Greenland since World War II, erstwhile American forces were deployed to the land pursuing Denmark’s autumn to Nazi Germany. At the tallness of the U.S. deployment, Greenland hosted much than 10,000 U.S. work personnel.

The Pituffik Space Base connected Greenland’s northwest coast, formerly known arsenic the Thule Air Base, is the United States’ northernmost subject facility. It present hosts astir 200 subject personnel, alongside rocket warning, defence and abstraction surveillance systems.

“The subject extortion of Greenland de facto relies connected the U.S.,” Rahbek-Clemmensen said. “And the large question is past whether the U.S. wants to heighten that presence, possibly to beryllium capable to bash different types of subject operations successful that area.”

That whitethorn beryllium why, helium added, Danish officials look to beryllium approaching the contented successful a mode that maintains bully U.S. relations.

“The Danish authorities has been trying to interaction connected that connection 'control' that Trump uses, which is simply a precise ambiguous term,” helium added. “What does power mean? Does it mean owning a portion of territory? Or does it mean having a definite magnitude of subject instrumentality connected that territory?”

US-Danish relations

At Denmark’s Arctic bid halfway successful Nuuk, the U.S. emblem flies alongside the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe Islands colors. The gathering besides hosts the U.S. Consulate — a motion that, for the clip being, U.S.-Danish relations stay cordial.

Before Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. Embassy successful Copenhagen said determination were nary plans to grow U.S. subject beingness successful Greenland.

That could alteration nether the caller president.

For now, Denmark and its European allies are hoping that Trump’s comments are portion of a strategy to unit NATO allies to walk much connected defense.

“There's an important constituent which is astir his personality, which helium brings into the mode that U.S. diplomacy, oregon his diplomacy, is carried out,” Jacobsen said.

“In a affirmative light, if the USA increases its beingness successful the Arctic, it volition summation the NATO presence, due to the fact that the 7 Arctic states — too Russia — we are each members of NATO now.”