Denmark's Arctic Commander Prioritizes Russian Threats Over U.S. Concerns

Denmark's Arctic Defense Strategy

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Janis Laizans

NUUK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Denmark's Joint Arctic Command in Greenland is focused on countering potential Russian activity, not defending against U.S. military threats, its head Major General Soren Andersen said on Friday, amid renewed attention on the Arctic region.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly described Greenland as vital to U.S. security and has even declined to rule out the use of force to take control of the vast autonomous Arctic island, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

U.S. and NATO Relations

"My focus is not toward the U.S., not at all. My focus is on Russia," Andersen told Reuters on board a Danish warship in Nuuk, Greenland's capital.

Andersen dismissed suggestions of conflict between NATO allies, describing such a scenario as "hypothetical".

"I don't see a NATO ally attacking another NATO ally," he said. Referring to Denmark's defence plans, he added, "We work on those, but it's a normal thing for us to do. My task is to work up here for the defence of the kingdom together with NATO."

Russian Naval Activities

In response to U.S. concerns, European nations dispatched small numbers of military personnel to Greenland this week in preparation for the Arctic Endurance NATO military exercise.

The Arctic Command has invited the U.S. to participate in Arctic Endurance, which this year will test forces in winter conditions.

"We had a meeting today with a lot of NATO partners, including the U.S., and invited them to participate in this exercise," Andersen said, adding that he did not yet know whether the U.S. would also join. Denmark did not invite the Americans to join a similar exercise in September.

Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, responsible for defence around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, conducts surveillance and search-and-rescue missions, utilizing patrol vessels, aircraft, helicopters, and satellite technology. It also fields the Sirius dog-sled patrol for long-range Arctic operations.

Andersen said there were no Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland, though he added that a Russian research vessel was located 310 nautical miles away. "That's the closest one," he said, adding that NATO allies maintain "a good picture of the situation up here".

Military Exercises in the Arctic

"We actually expect an increase in Russian activities in the coming years, and... we have to start training and increase the presence here in the Arctic to protect NATO's northern border," Andersen said.

Denmark allocated an Arctic defence package of 42 billion Danish crowns ($6.54 billion) in 2022 in response to rising security concerns.

Andersen emphasised that collaboration with U.S. military personnel remains frequent. He recently met with the commander of U.S. NORTHCOM, the commander of Alaska Command, and held discussions at the U.S. Pituffik base in Greenland, with further engagements planned later this month.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Janis Laizans, editing by Terje Solsvik and Gareth Jones)