The United States is no longer a reliable ally for Denmark. Danish military intelligence released a report on Wednesday in which, for the first time, the North American country is considered a potential threat to its national security. Relations between Copenhagen and Washington have deteriorated considerably this year, following Donald Trump’s renewed interest, since his return to the White House, in the annexation of the Danish island of Greenland.
“The United States uses economic power, including the threat of high customs duties, to impose its will. And it no longer excludes the use of military force, even against its allies,” underlines the document from the Defense Intelligence Service (FE, for its acronym in Danish), one of the two spy agencies in the Nordic country.
The Danish military intelligence report focuses on Trump’s repeated threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, to the United States, without ruling out the use of military force. During his first term, the president has already expressed his interest in this Arctic island, of enormous geostrategic value and rich in mineral resources. Since his return to the White House, however, he has redoubled pressure on Copenhagen, insisting that the annexation of the gigantic island is “a necessity for the United States for reasons of national security” and accusing his ally – a founding member of NATO – of not having invested sufficiently in recent decades to guarantee the security of Greenland.
“The strategic importance of the Arctic is increasing as the conflict between Russia and the West intensifies,” the FE document points out. “Great power rivalry in the Arctic is significantly increasing international attention to the region. Not least because of growing US interest in Greenland,” the report said.
Trump’s focus on the planet’s largest island “raises the threat of espionage, including cyber espionage, and attempts to negatively influence the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish military intelligence warns. Last August, the Danish Foreign Ministry summoned the top US diplomatic representative in Copenhagen to demand an explanation of so-called “influence operations” carried out in Greenland by three people linked to the Trump administration, shortly after Danish intelligence services warned that the Greenlandic population was the target of Washington-orchestrated campaigns aimed at promoting the independence movement.
Nevertheless, the main risks to Danish security still come from Russia and China, according to the FE report, which highlights that Moscow and Beijing can benefit from deteriorating transatlantic relations. “The uncertainty surrounding the role of the United States as guarantor of European security will increase Russia’s desire to intensify its hybrid attacks against NATO,” underlines Danish military intelligence. “The growing economic and military influence exerted by China represents a challenge for the West,” summarizes the document.
In addition to the Arctic, Danish military intelligence focuses on the Baltic, a sea in which Russia is the only coastal state not belonging to the Alliance and where acts of sabotage against submarine cables have taken place in recent years. “It is in the Baltic Sea region that the risk of Russia using military force against NATO is greatest,” notes the Danish intelligence agency. The Kremlin’s military threat against the Alliance “will increase further, but there is currently no risk of a conventional attack against the Kingdom of Denmark,” the report said.
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