Germany says a joint NATO reconnaissance mission to Greenland aims to counter growing Russian and Chinese military threats in the strategically vital Arctic region.
BERLIN: Germany’s defence ministry says a joint European NATO reconnaissance mission to Greenland aims to counter Russian and Chinese military threats in the Arctic.
The ministry stated the mission will explore options for ensuring security in light of those threats.
It made no mention of US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims to the Danish autonomous territory.
Germany, France, Sweden and Norway announced the deployments on Wednesday.
This followed a Washington meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials that failed to resolve disagreement over the island.
A 13-strong German Bundeswehr team aims to help explore conditions for possible military support to Denmark.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Russia and China are increasingly using the Arctic for military purposes.
He stated this jeopardises freedom of transport, communication and trade.
“NATO will not allow this and will continue to uphold the rules-based international order,” Pistorius was quoted as saying.
The minister emphasised close coordination with US partners during the exploration under Danish leadership.
The ministry said the mission comes at Denmark’s invitation to gather fundamental local information.
A German unit flew to Denmark’s Karup air base on Thursday.
The European allies will fly together to Greenland on Friday using a Danish civilian aircraft.
The ministry called the joint flight a strong sign of unity.
