Danish general says he is not losing sleep over US plans for Greenland
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Greenland has a population of 57,000 people, of which 20,000 live in the capital Nuuk.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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COPENHAGEN – The head of Denmark’s Arctic command said the prospect of a US takeover of Greenland was not keeping him up at night after talks with a senior US general last week, but that more must be done to deter any Russian attack on the Arctic island.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the US might acquire Greenland
Mr Trump has not ruled out taking the territory by force and, at a congressional hearing in June, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not deny that such contingency plans exist.
Such a scenario “is absolutely not on my mind”, Major-General 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 the US defence of the area.
“I sleep perfectly well at night,” Maj-Gen Anderson said. “Militarily, we work together, as we always have.”
US General Gregory Guillot visited the US Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on June 19 to 20 for the first time since the US moved Greenland oversight to the Northern Command from its European command, the Northern Command said on June 24.
Maj-Gen Andersen’s interview with Reuters on June 25 were his first detailed comments to media since his talks with Gen 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.
Maj-Gen Andersen said the threat level to Greenland had not increased in 2025. “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 such as search and rescue and fishing inspection, the Joint Arctic Command is now shifting more towards territorial defence, Maj-Gen 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 in June, Denmark has deployed a frigate, F-16s, special forces and extra troops and increased surveillance around critical infrastructure. They will leave next week when the exercises end, Maj-Gen 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 more than US$2 billion (S$2.5 billion) to strengthen its Arctic defence
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, Maj-Gen 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. REUTERS
