Danish troops flown to Greenland in January were ready to blow up airport runways in the event of a potential U.S. attack, Denmark’s public broadcaster DR reported on Thursday (19 March), citing soruces within the country and among European allies.
Soldiers from the Scandinavian nation also brought blood bags to the Arctic island to treat the wounded in case fighting broke out.
Denmark and the U.S. are both members of the NATO alliance. But Copenhagen began preparing for a possible U.S. invasion of the semi-autonomous territory after U.S. President Donald Trump made repeated threats to take over the island.
In early January, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured its then President Nicolas Maduro. The following day, Trump said the U.S. needed Greenland “very badly". In response, the Danish government accelerated the deployment of its soldiers to Greenland
"When Trump keeps saying he wants to take over Greenland, and then what happened in Venezuela happened, we had to take all scenarios seriously," a source told DR.
Denmark also reportedly sought political support from France, Germany and other Nordic countries for the creation of a European alliance to defend Greenland from a takeover by Washington.
Trump later withdrew his threats to use force to acquire Greenland, after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 21 January.
The U.S. President has said he needs to acquire Greenland for national security reasons. The island is viewed as a suitable spot for placing missile and space defence systems, according to analysts.
In recent years, China has extended its influence in the Arctic through the development of new shipping routes, made possible as ice melts due to global warming, as well as through investment in the region.
Russia, whose Arctic coastline extends over 24,150km, has also expanded its military infrastructure across its northern coastline. Meanwhile, Greenland’s retreating ice sheet is exposing valuable mineral resources.
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