US President Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland, stating that this is the only way the United States can guarantee its defense. Denmark and Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of the kingdom, refuse and claim that all Washington's concerns can be appeased within the framework of the existing defense agreement.
Eight countries have territories in the Arctic: Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Below is an overview of their military assets:
RUSSIA
Half of the land area in the Arctic is Russian territory. Since 2005, Moscow has reopened and modernized dozens of Soviet-era military bases both on land and on islands off its northern coast.
Russia maintains a high level of readiness at its nuclear test site on Novaya Zemlya, an Arctic archipelago, although it has not conducted a live nuclear test since 1990. Last October, it test-fired its nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, from Novaya Zemlya.
The Kola Peninsula in the European Arctic is home to about two-thirds of Russia's nuclear second-strike capability - its ability to respond to a nuclear strike with its own nuclear strike, according to Matthew Bouleg, a research fellow at the Polar Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
The region is also home to Russia's Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk, which is home to six of the country's 12 nuclear-armed submarines, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The remaining six are operated by the Pacific Fleet, based in Vladivostok.
The Northern Fleet's only access route to the North Atlantic is through the Barents Sea, between the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (Spitsbergen - ed. note) and the northern coast of Europe. Therefore, keeping this route free is of key importance to Moscow.
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Since 1957, the United States and Canada have jointly defended their territory against threats, including nuclear missiles, through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The two countries are modernizing NORAD according to the MISS. Canada has acquired two over-the-horizon surveillance radar systems covering the Arctic and polar approaches, the first of which is expected to reach initial operational readiness by 2028.
President Trump has expressed a strong interest in developing a new missile defense system called "Golden Dome," for which he has said Greenland is key.
The United States maintains the "Pitufik" space base in northern Greenland under a defense agreement with Denmark. In addition, most of its Arctic forces are located at eight bases in Alaska, numbering about 22,000 troops, according to MISI and the U.S. Northern Command.
Canada has five Arctic bases, including Alert, an electronic intelligence station on Ellesmere Island, which is the northernmost permanently inhabited settlement in the world.
South of the Arctic Circle, Canada maintains a base at Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, which houses a Ranger patrol and an air base.
Canada is also building a facility on Baffin Island to refuel patrol vessels, although the project has suffered numerous delays. Meanwhile, the U.S. is expanding its existing port facilities in Nome, Alaska, according to the IMIS.
DENMARK
Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, based in Greenland's capital Nuuk, has about 150 military and civilian personnel.
The command also has a presence at Kangerlussuaq Air Base, as well as four smaller military stations in eastern and northeastern Greenland. It also has a liaison officer at Pitufik.
The Sirius Patrol dog sledding - the subject of Trump's mockery - is a military unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance in the extreme conditions of northeastern Greenland.
SWEDEN AND FINLAND
Sweden has no military bases north of the Arctic Circle, but it does have an air base in Luleå, on the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, and a land base with two regiments in Buden, about 40 kilometers inland.
Finland has an air base in Rovaniemi, located on the Arctic Circle, and a base for the Eger Brigade further north in Finnish Lapland.
Since joining NATO, both countries have integrated their armed forces with other members of the alliance.
NORWAY
Norway is NATO's observer for a vast maritime area of about 2 million square kilometers in the Arctic Ocean. Atlantic, including the Arctic.
Many of its military facilities are located north of the Arctic Circle. The country has four air bases, including one for its new F-35 fighter jets, two naval bases, a chain of land bases and a reception center for NATO allies who would arrive for reinforcements in the event of an attack.
There are no military facilities on Svalbard, Norway's Arctic archipelago.
ICELAND
The North Atlantic island nation is a member of NATO but does not have its own army, only a coast guard.
It hosts US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, based at Keflavik Air Base, on a rotational basis. near Reykjavik.
NATO fighter jets periodically stay in “Keflavik“ to guard Icelandic airspace. These missions usually last two to three weeks and take place three times a year.
Translated from English: Boryana Mihaylova, BTA