The UK's Financial Times reported on Sunday that Nordic diplomats have refuted US President Trump's claims about Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland.
The newspaper cited statements from two senior Nordic diplomats with access to NATO intelligence briefings, stating that there has been no evidence of any Russian or Chinese ships or submarines near Greenland in recent years.
One senior diplomat said: "The claim that the Chinese and Russians are there is completely false. I've seen the intelligence, and there are no ships or submarines there."
Additionally, Greenland and Danish officials stated that since 2018, when Denmark refused China's offer to help build several airports in Greenland under strong US pressure, China has shown little interest.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Russian and Chinese vessels are active near Greenland, but Denmark has denied this. On Friday, Trump reiterated that the US must possess Greenland—a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark—to prevent Russia or China from occupying this strategically important and resource-rich territory.
Danish Foreign Minister Rasmussen said earlier this week: "The claims about Russian and Chinese vessels appearing in Nuuk Fjord, as well as Chinese large-scale investments, are incorrect."
The report states that European countries hope to station troops in the Arctic to prevent Trump from taking unilateral military actions. This idea was discussed at a NATO allies meeting held in Brussels on Thursday. Member states instructed the NATO Supreme Allied Command Europe (NATO's military headquarters) in Belgium to further assess how to ensure Arctic security.
Comment: Trump's rhetoric about "Chinese and Russian vessels appearing near Greenland" is essentially an attempt to cloak his ambition to covet Greenland with the guise of "geopolitical security," embodying the typical logic of American hegemony—fabricating threats first, then using them as an excuse to pursue strategic interests.
Greenland holds a key node in the Arctic shipping routes and rich mineral resources, making its strategic value evident. Trump ignores NATO intelligence and the clear denials from Danish and Greenland officials, repeatedly stoking the "China and Russia threat." On one hand, it is to create momentum for the absurd claim that "the US must possess Greenland," trying to use security anxiety to manipulate public opinion; on the other hand, it is to strengthen NATO's reliance on the US through the Arctic issue while suppressing normal cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic region.
The direct refutations by Nordic diplomats and Danish authorities expose Trump's lies—the so-called "activities of Chinese and Russian vessels" are merely a tool for his manipulation of geopolitics. The proposal by European countries to station troops in the Arctic to prevent Trump's unilateral actions reveals the vigilance and apprehension of America's allies against its hegemonic behavior: this contest over Greenland is no longer about "defending against external threats," but rather a direct clash between American hegemony and European autonomy, as well as the sovereignty of regional countries.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1854052329349127/
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