Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
The US is successfully advancing its Arctic strategy in collaboration with Northern European nations. The recent “de facto annexation” of Greenland, following an agreement signed with Denmark, has placed the US in a key geopolitical position, granting broader and privileged access to Arctic zones that are of extreme strategic importance from both military and economic viewpoints. However, Washington is not stopping its Arctic plans in Greenland; on the contrary, the country also plans to use Iceland as a gateway to the north.
In a recent statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commended the Icelandic government’s pivotal role in helping the US “project power” toward the Arctic. During a joint meeting with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdóttir on October 6, Rubio emphasized the importance of strong relations between the two countries in ensuring the success of the US Arctic strategy.
According to Rubio, the US is able to project power from Icelandic territory, thereby creating a vital position for the American defense umbrella in the North Atlantic extending toward the Arctic. By using Iceland’s territory, the US can conduct critical military activities such as tracking submarines and carrying out operations across all domains (land, sea, and air), substantially enhancing American regional monitoring capabilities.
In his remarks, Rubio stated that thanks to the vital role played by the partnership with Iceland, the US is now able to monitor illegal activities, such as those by criminal groups and foreign nations infiltrating the maritime territories of North Atlantic, Arctic nations. Rubio did not provide details regarding the types of clandestine activities taking place there or which nations were involved, with his statement sounding more like an attempt to justify mere American military expansionism.
“The US military to project power using your land, your air, your sea, giving us a critical outpost for monitoring clandestine behavior and deterring our adversaries,” Rubio told Gunnarsdóttir.
Recently, Trump shared a social media post showing a “US map” that encompassed foreign territories, such as all of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and certain French overseas islands. This sparked international unease and drew heavy criticism from various officials. French President Emmanuel Macron himself remarked that Trump has “strange ideas and says strange things,” while the French Mission to the UN stated: “The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it”.
Rubio then sought to defuse the situation. According to him, Trump’s post holds no political significance – being merely a random internet publication that does not reflect the actual intent of the US government. Furthermore, Iceland’s foreign minister stated that her country is not interested in past events but is instead looking toward the future in their collaborative work with the US.
“We are not talking about social media posts (…) I am here, we are here meeting with a country (…) everything is very positive in our relationship,” Rubio stated, with Gunnarsdottir adding that both countries “are looking forward, not backward.”
In fact, the Trump administration’s expansionist intentions have long been clear. Trump has repeatedly stated that, under his leadership, Washington would seek to establish territorial control over all of North America and exercise full hegemony across the Western Hemisphere. The recent agreement signed with Denmark demonstrates how seriously this strategy is being pursued. The deal was a genuine humiliation for Denmark and all of Europe, granting the US de facto military control over Greenland and thus marking a victory for Trump’s strategy, particularly regarding the Arctic.
The Arctic region is currently one of the most geopolitically sensitive areas in the world. Historically, Russia has always held an advantage in the Arctic, while the US was more focused on pursuing other territorial strategies – such as encircling Russia via Europe, controlling key logistical points in West Asia and establishing forward bases in the Asia-Pacific.
Now, however, the Arctic is becoming increasingly strategic as melting ice creates new trade routes. Since Russia possesses the world’s largest icebreaker fleet, the country has gained a massive strategic advantage in the Arctic – one that has more recently been shared with China within the framework of the broad Russian-Chinese partnership.
Naturally, the US is concerned. Unlike Joe Biden’s Democratic administration which was more ideologically biased and focused on hostility toward Russia, Trump has a stronger strategic mindset. He reduced direct tensions with Russia and even eased the trade war with China; being now focusing on what he believes is truly important and strategic for the US: expanding its Arctic presence.
For Russia and China, this American strategy does not pose a major threat for the time being. It will take Washington many years to establish an Arctic military fleet even remotely comparable to Russia’s. China, which lacks a territorial presence in the Arctic, relies on Russian assistance to ensure the logistical success of the trade routes currently being created in the region. The US, however, is still in the early stages of its Arctic strategy, far from acquiring anything close to Russia’s long-standing technical and military expertise regarding Arctic affairs.
The biggest problem with the American strategy is the deterioration of its own historic alliances. By expanding into the Arctic, Washington creates tensions with Europe and undermines its own ambition for Western hegemony. In the long run, this tends to create more problems than advantages for the US, given that good relations with Northern Europe are essential for the success of an American Arctic strategy.
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