“Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Triton patrols the seas around the Arctic. The Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Triton is part of the Joint Arctic Command Denmark, a joint operational territorial command of the Danish Defence operating in Greenland and the Faroes Islands. The command’s main task is surveillance and military defence of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.” 2022 photo. Souce: Flickr, NATO, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
On Monday, September 8, the Chief of the Denmark’s Arctic Command began his series of citizen meetings in some of the towns in Greenland where the increased military presence of the Armed Forces will be felt in the coming period.
Speaking about current threats to Greenland, the Danish general forgot to mention the most pressing one at the moment – the prospect of the forcible annexation of the island by the United States.
There were many questions at the citizen meeting in Nuuk. It was the first of three citizen meetings that the Chief of the Arctic Command will hold in September.
On Monday afternoon, approximately 40 men and women gathered at the Community Hall in Nuuk to hear the Chief of the Arctic Command, Major General Søren Andersen, talk about the increased military presence that Greenlanders will experience in the coming period.
“What we are training in the next few weeks is rescue at sea and marine pollution. But we also need to train conventional defence. It is something we do because we have to,” said Søren Andersen.
The meeting in Nuuk is the first of three citizen meetings planned for the coming period. One is also planned for Kangerlussuaq and one for Sisimiut. The purpose of the meetings is to inform citizens and provide an opportunity to ask questions.
“There has long been a common desire to keep the Arctic as a low-voltage area. And that has been good. But we must recognise that it cannot continue as it is. We are currently seeing the Russians being more active in the Arctic. And we are seeing the Chinese and the Russians working together. It is not happening near Greenland, but we have to take it seriously. And the fact is that Greenland is a special place to be and move. That is why we have to send soldiers and equipment up here from Denmark to train. We have to know the terrain and continuously try to work up here,” said Søren Andersen.
Increased Presence
In the coming days, the Danish Armed Forces will primarily train search and rescue in collaboration with a ship from Royal Arctic Line. This collaboration will also be used to train in the containment of oil pollution at sea. Later, in several places in Greenland, you will be able to experience helicopters, fighter jets, large warships and soldiers from both the Schleswig Regiment of Foot and the Home Guard, who either contribute to surveillance and asserting sovereignty or train in, for example, guarding critical infrastructure.
“Of course, we take into account the hunting season both in the areas where we will be practicing and the routes where we will be flying, while also taking care of our task. We are extremely aware of that,” said Søren Andersen.
Questions From The Audience
A number of questions were asked from the audience. Some of the questions asked were about the condition of the large ships and the plans to increase surveillance in the Arctic. It was also asked whether Denmark is too small a country to defend an area as large as Greenland.
Søren Andersen replied that the defence of Greenland must be seen in a larger perspective.
“We are part of NATO. In this cooperation, Denmark and Greenland must take responsibility first, but then there will be support from the rest of NATO if something should arise. Even though the Greenlandic people are peaceful and always have been, unfortunately it is not us who can decide whether Greenland risks being drawn into a conflict. That was also the case in Ukraine.”
Source: Forsvaret (in Danish)