US Expands Arctic Security Footprint to Iceland Following Greenland

▲ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The United States is strengthening its security cooperation with Iceland, following a recent security agreement with Greenland.

The move is aimed at blocking the influence of China and Russia in the Arctic region.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during a press briefing following a meeting with Icelandic diplomatic officials on the 6th (local time) that "Iceland occupies a highly critical strategic position for our collective security."

Highlighting the strategic value of infrastructure such as Iceland's airfields and ports, as well as its surveillance capabilities and technology, Rubio emphasized that the U.S. is open to expanding bilateral security cooperation.

"There is a great deal of focus on the Arctic right now," Rubio said, adding, "Iceland and its geographic location play an important role not only in the defense of Europe, but also in the defense of the U.S. homeland."

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Rubio's visit to Iceland was intended to deliver U.S. President Donald Trump's "Arctic initiative."

The WSJ noted that as the United States expands its military influence in the Arctic, the move represents an effort to extend its footprint to Iceland, following its decision to strengthen control over Greenland.

Previously, the United States signed an agreement last month with Denmark and Greenland to construct two large-scale military bases in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, and significantly increase its stationed troops.

The U.S. push to bring the frozen Arctic territories of Greenland and Iceland under its military sphere of influence is widely interpreted as a measure to keep China and Russia in check.

Rubio described Iceland as a "key outpost capable of monitoring clandestine activities and deterring our adversaries from entering your sovereign territory and the sovereign territory of our shared allies."

Earlier that day, Rubio toured the U.S. Navy's P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft at the Keflavik Air Base.

This patrol aircraft has been rotationally deployed to Iceland to detect and track Chinese and Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.

Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir also told the WSJ in an interview last month, "What Iceland contributes is being a base. Literally, our country itself becomes a base."

Friction previously flared between the countries after President Trump pushed to annex Greenland and described Iceland as the so-called "52nd state," but the U.S. has recently appeared to actively downplay and defuse those tensions.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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