By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -The head of Denmark’s Arctic command said the prospect of a U.S. takeover of Greenland was not keeping him up at night after talks with a senior U.S. general last week but that more must be done to deter any Russian attack on the Arctic island.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested the United States might acquire Greenland, a vast semi-autonomous Danish territory on the shortest route between North America and Europe vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system.
Trump has not ruled out taking the territory by force and, at a congressional hearing this month, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not deny that such contingency plans exist.
Such a scenario “is absolutely not on my mind,” Soren Andersen, head of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, told Reuters in an interview, days after what he said was his first meeting with the general overseeing U.S. defence of the area.
“I sleep perfectly well at night,” Anderson said. “Militarily, we work together, as we always have.”
U.S. General Gregory Guillot visited the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on June 19-20 for the first time since the U.S. moved Greenland oversight to the Northern command from its European command, the Northern Command said on Tuesday.
Andersen’s interview with Reuters on Wednesday were his first detailed comments to media since his talks with Guillot, which coincided with Danish military exercises on Greenland involving one of its largest military presences since the Cold War.
Russian and Chinese state vessels have appeared unexpectedly around Greenland in the past and the Trump administration has accused Denmark of failing to keep it safe from potential incursions. Both countries have denied any such plans.
Andersen said the threat level to Greenland had not increased this year. “We don’t see Russian or Chinese state ships up here,” he said.
DOG SLED PATROLS
Denmark’s permanent presence consists of four ageing inspection vessels, a small surveillance plane, and dog sled patrols tasked with monitoring an area four times the size of France.
Previously focused on demonstrating its presence and civilian tasks like search and rescue, and fishing inspection, the Joint Arctic Command is now shifting more towards territorial defence, Andersen said.
“In reality, Greenland is not that difficult to defend,” he said. “Relatively few points need defending, and of course, we have a plan for that. NATO has a plan for that.”
As part of the military exercises this month, Denmark has deployed a frigate, F-16s, special forces and extra troops, and increased surveillance around critical infrastructure. They would leave next week when the exercises end, Andersen said, adding that he would like to repeat them in the coming months.
“To keep this area conflict-free, we have to do more, we need to have a credible deterrent,” he said. “If Russia starts to change its behaviour around Greenland, I have to be able to act on it.”
In January, Denmark pledged over $2 billion to strengthen its Arctic defence, including new Arctic navy vessels, long-range drones, and satellite coverage. France offered to deploy troops to Greenland and EU’s top military official said it made sense to station troops from EU countries there.
Around 20,000 people live in the capital Nuuk, with the rest of Greenland’s 57,000 population spread across 71 towns, mostly on the west coast. The lack of infrastructure elsewhere is a deterrent in itself, Andersen said.
“If, for example, there were to be a Russian naval landing on the east coast, I think it wouldn’t be long before such a military operation would turn into a rescue mission,” he said.
($1 = 6.3701 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
