Five reasons why Trump was so desperate to take control of Greenland

The Independent | Danica Kirka, James C. Reynolds

Donald Trump has announced an agreement between the United States and Denmark which gives Washington permanent control over the security of Greenland and allows for an immediate expansion of the American military presence there. The deal comes after months of secret negotiations, during which the US president threatened to use force in order to annex the mineral-rich territory inhabited by 56,000 people.

The reduction in Arctic ice caused by climate change has once again led to fierce geopolitical rivalry between Russia and China regarding the strategic northern shipping routes and the critical mineral resources still available. The island stands guard over the GIUK Gap. In order to meet these regional threats, the US military runs the Pituffik Space Base as part of its missile defence efforts, and Copenhagen has recently pledged 27.4 billion kroner together with a 14.6 billion-kroner surveillance agreement to improve its Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk. This significant security agreement secures the vital high-tech mineral reserves, counters Beijing's market dominance, and permanently establishes Western defensive supremacy over the northern maritime routes.

Comment

The bilateral security agreement changes the security arrangement on NATO's northern side. Since it secures direct control of the Pituffik Space Base, Washington is able to decrease its need for Danish mediation. As a result, Copenhagen's Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk is effectively excluded. The establishment of such direct security relationships could lead to an increase in political tension with the self-governing Greenlandic government.

The bilateral arrangement downstream is likely to make it more difficult for NATO to carry out its collective monitoring of the GIUK Gap. If the United States decides to give missile warning priority at Pituffik on its own, it will exclude Europe's allies from key early-warning data streams. This kind of fragmentation will in the end impair the maritime surveillance abilities of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If the United States gives priority to its unilateral actions at Pituffik Space Base, how will Denmark's Joint Arctic Command carry out its mandate concerning the assertion of sovereignty without having access to the integrated early-warning data?

The fact is that Denmark's Joint Arctic Command will have to place greater reliance on its newly funded long-range surveillance drones and on its satellite capabilities in order to fill the information gap. Yet, since it does not have direct access to the sensor network at Pituffik Space Base, Copenhagen's capacity to keep an eye on the GIUK Gap is likely to become more reactive. I believe that this change will in the end lead European allies to set up their own, separate surveillance systems in the High North.

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