Nook, Greenland
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In the untouched fjords of southwestern Greenland, a fleet of Danish warships patrol the icy waters of highly contested Arctic hotspots.
For three centuries Denmark has been a sovereign force here, not only with a small European monarchy governing 57,000 people in Greenland, but also with a vast range of harsh, resource-rich terrain.
However, Danish colonial authorities focus primarily on foreign, defense and economic policies – face unprecedented challenges, with the Kingdom of Scandinavian struggling to maintain military control and maintenance.
CNN was invited to HDMS Neils Jewel, a Danish air defense frigate deployed in Greenland for the light of the exercise. This is one aspect of the Arctic possession, one aspect of Denmark’s intensification military presence, which began this June.
Officials in the public eye reflect long-standing concerns from NATO allies that Russia has strengthened its aggressive capabilities in the Arctic for more than two decades.
Greenland, along with Iceland and the UK, sits along an important axis, the so-called Giuk gap, which controls maritime access to the North Atlantic.
Moscow may be fighting in Ukraine now, but once that cruel conflict is finally over, Danish military officials are hoping CNN to fully hope that Russia will distract resources, pose a much greater threat in areas of the Arctic.
China is also strengthening its Arctic claims, taking part in patrols and campaigns with Russian vessels, funding Arctic infrastructure projects, and developing a “polar Silk Road” plan for Arctic transport. Despite the fact that Harbin, the main city to the north, is almost as north as Venice, Italy, is even declared itself a “close distance nation.”
However, in a face-to-face meeting, a senior Danish military commander says neither Russia nor China presents a significant military threat to Greenland.
“I don’t think there is a threat to Greenland right now,” Major General Soren Andersen, head of the Danish joint Arctic Order, told CNN.
“Russia operates in the Arctic Ocean in the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, but not here,” he added.
Additionally, Danish military officials have argued that together the world’s largest islands – the six Germans or the two largest US states – Alaska and California – are relatively easy to defend. Dysman military officials say harsh weather, mountainous areas and lack of infrastructure have made the entire east coast of the territory “virtually inconquerable.”
It all questions why Denmark, a US ally that helped its military into the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is currently holding its largest military training, increasing its Arctic defence spending over $2 billion, establishing Arctic special forces groups, and purchasing new naval views and long-range dr.
The answer is more likely to be found in Washington, DC than in Moscow or Beijing.
Danish military spending was announced in January this year, and shortly after US President Donald Trump began expressing renewed interest in Greenland’s control, he argued in December last year that “the United States feels that Greenland possession and control is absolutely necessary.”
Subsequent remarks that made Trump refused to forcefully rule out Greenland have raised further alarms.
But while this issue, along with his threat to take over the Canadian and Panama Canals, appears to have dropped the agenda of the US leaders of mercury, many Danes see it as the most pressing and worrying diplomatic challenge.
A likely protest, Denmark recently confirmed that CNN will purchase the biggest weapon ever, and agreed to spend more than $9 billion on air defense systems from European manufacturers in place of American patriot missile batteries.
A western diplomat told CNN that even a year ago, American suppliers would “almost certainly” win the contract.
And while Danish officials have told CNN, as NATO’s ally, that CNN will likely remain a major buyer of US military hardware, including the purchase of more F-35 war aircraft, air defense systems deals are a powerful reminder that high-value weapons procurement often conveys a political message.
Back on Danish frigates sandwiched between the desolate mountains of Greenland’s thin black rocks, the boom of practicing naval cannon guns echoing through the deep bys of the Arctic as fighters scream overhead.
“The message to all our allies is that we are protecting the Kingdom of Denmark,” Major General Andersen told CNN. Perhaps there is less warning to Russia and China than a plea to the United States for its respect as a capable and dedicated Arctic ally.
