NATO Launches Plan to Strengthen Arctic Security...Move to Head Off Greenland Controversy?

To Be Discussed at NATO Defense Ministers' Meeting on the 12th
Trump's Remark: "Greenland Will Be the 52nd State"

AFP Yonhap News Agency

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced that it is moving forward with military plans to strengthen security in the Arctic. Following Russia's threats in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and now the U.S. administration's attempt to annex Greenland, this is being interpreted as NATO fully embarking on enhanced security activities.

According to Agence France-Presse and Yonhap News Agency, on the 3rd (local time), Colonel Martin L. O'Donnell, spokesperson for NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, said, "Plans are underway for enhanced NATO surveillance activities, named 'Arctic Sentry'," adding, "These activities will further strengthen NATO's posture in the Arctic and the High North." He said these plans have only just begun and refused to disclose specific details.

The German weekly Der Spiegel reported, "NATO Commander Alexis Grinkevich has also ordered the development of concrete plans for Arctic Sentry activities," and added, "NATO defense ministers could meet in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the preliminary plans." The NATO defense ministers' meeting will be held on the 12th in Brussels, Belgium. They are expected to address overall security in the Arctic region, as well as responses to the recent controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to annex Greenland.

Although President Trump has officially stepped back for now on the issue of annexing Greenland, he is still believed to want Greenland's annexation. According to the Washington Post (WP), at a private dinner speech during a social gathering on January 31, Trump said, "I want to make Canada the 51st state of the United States. Greenland will be the 52nd state, and Venezuela could be the 53rd."

The U.S. government is also continuously demanding expanded control over Greenland. According to the New York Times (NYT), the United States and NATO are discussing a plan under which the United States would hold sovereignty over the land of U.S. military bases in Greenland. However, Denmark and Greenland are insisting that they cannot concede territorial sovereignty, and the negotiations continue to face difficulties. The Danish government has maintained its stance that there will be no negotiations over territorial sovereignty, even suggesting that it could renegotiate the 1951 military treaty on Greenland concluded with the United States.