The I’LL TAKE approved this Wednesday the launch of the mission Arctic Sentinelwhose stated objective is jointly reinforce security in the region against the military activity of Russia and the growing strategic interest of China.
But the real background of the operation is the attempt by the allies to curb the ambitions of Donald Trump to annex Greenland, a territory under Danish sovereignty and covered by the collective defense clause of the Alliance.
Emboldened by the success of his military intervention in Venezuela to stop Nicolás Maduro, Trump He spent the entire month of January putting pressure on Denmark and Greenland. He threatened allies who interfered with his plans with tariffs and did not even rule out the use of force.
Their argument is that the United States needs to possess the large Arctic island as a matter of “national security.”
The aggressiveness of the American president unleashed an unprecedented crisis in NATO. The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksenwarned that any military intervention by Washington in Greenland would immediately put an end to the Alliance, while its secretary general, Mark Rutteremained silent.
After the retaliation announced by the EU, Trump took a step back and, in a meeting with Rutte during the Davos forum, announced that he was renouncing military intervention in Greenland and imposing tariffs, based on a supposed principle of agreement.
A pact that actually consists of continuing bilateral negotiations with Denmark, which has already said that it is willing to expand the US military presence in Greenland but without giving up sovereignty; and in launching the Arctic Sentinel mission.
The operation “underscores the Alliance’s commitment to protecting its members and maintaining stability in one of the most strategically significant and environmentally challenging regions in the world,” said the US Air Force general. Alexus G. Grynkewichsupreme allied commander in Europe.
“NATO’s strength will be harnessed to protect our territory and ensure that the Arctic and the High North remain safe,” he stressed.
The mission “comes after the meeting held last month in Davos by Trump and Rutte, where both agreed that the Alliance should collectively assume greater responsibility in the defense of the regiongiven Russia’s military activity and China’s growing interest,” NATO explained in a statement.
The operation will coordinate the activities of allied countries in the Arctic and the High North. Among them, the operation Arctic Resistance of Denmark and the next year Cold Response hosted by Norway, where troops from across the alliance have already begun deploying.
Arctic Sentinel will be led by the Joint Forces Command Norfolk (JFC Norfolk)the Alliance’s newest joint command, whose area of responsibility, as of December, includes this entire region.