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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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NATO nations should launch a new operation in the Arctic to fend off U.S. concerns about security in the region, Belgium's defense minister has said.
Why It Matters
NATO has been shaken by President Donald Trump and his administration's persistent overtures toward Greenland, and the refusal to rule out using military action against a fellow NATO member to take the sparsely populated, mineral-rich strategic expanse by force.
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U.S. officials have said Washington needs control of Greenland to safeguard its national security and shore up NATO defenses. But onlookers also say sharp U.S. interest in the island, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, is also about expanding Washington's sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere and securing vital resources.
Danish and Greenlandic officials have hit back with increasing force at the U.S. statements and are expected to hold talks with the administration in the coming days.
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What to Know
"We have to collaborate, work together and show strength and unity," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken told Reuters in an interview published on Sunday, calling for a "a NATO operation in the High North."
High North is a term often used by NATO countries to talk about parts of the Arctic, northern Atlantic and other austere strategic waterways. Officials in the alliance have frequently used the term, "High North, low tension," to describe the desire to stave off clashes between Russia and NATO nations in the Arctic.
But the region in general is garnering more and more attention, not only from states with Arctic coastlines but also from farther-flung nations. China has declared itself a "near Arctic" state, and Russia—the dominant Arctic power—has been heavily investing in its footprint in the region.
There is no evidence to suggest Russia or China would take control of Greenland, nor of Trump's previous claim that the territory is "covered with Russian and Chinese ships."
"It is simply not true that the Chinese and Russians are there," one unnamed senior Nordic diplomat told the Financial Times on Sunday. "I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines."
Francken said NATO countries could base a new operation on the alliance's Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry initiatives.
NATO launched Baltic Sentry in early 2025 to shield critical infrastructure like undersea cables after a string of cables and pipelines were damaged in quick succession at the end of 2024. Eastern Sentry is a separate but linked project to beef up NATO's air presence along the border with Russia, conceived shortly after roughly 20 Russian drones crossed over into Poland in September 2025.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Germany will propose establishing a new NATO mission for the Arctic, citing sources familiar with the plans.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday said Denmark was facing a "decisive moment," separately pledging to "defend our values—wherever it is necessary."
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has called the U.S. administration's statements "completely and utterly unacceptable" and "so disrespectful."
Many Greenlanders are in favor of eventually separating from Denmark but opinion polls show the vast majority of Greenlanders do not want to become part of the U.S.
"Have the Europeans, have the Danes, done a proper job of securing Greenland and making sure it can continue to serve as an anchor for world security and missile defense? And the answer is, obviously they haven't," Vice President JD Vance said last week during an interview on Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime.
"They've underinvested in their security, they haven't done a good job of securing that area, that landmass," Vance said.
Vance, visiting Greenland in March 2025, had accused Copenhagen of neglecting Greenland. Danish officials say they have increased defense spending in the Arctic and northern Atlantic.
There are already American troops in Greenland, stationed at the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island. The base is vital for detecting long-range missiles bound for the U.S. mainland.
What People Are Saying
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken told Reuters in an interview published on Sunday: "I think that we need to sort this out like friends and allies, like we always do."
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said earlier this month: "We are fully aware of our country's strategic location."
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