Chinese Think Tank Warns Beijing Against Confronting New US-Denmark-Greenland Pact

A Chinese think tank has warned Beijing against reacting confrontationally to a new security pact between the United States, Denmark and Greenland, saying such a response could leave China excluded from engagement on the emerging Arctic order.

The warning came from Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies (NISS), which released its report on Wednesday. The report said China “still has considerable policy space” in the region, but suggested that Beijing’s approach would be important to preserving that space.

What the pact allows

The pact was signed by the US, Denmark and Greenland on September 22. It allows America to establish two new military bases in Greenland.

It also gives the US a formal say in vetting foreign investment in “sensitive” sectors on the world’s largest island. Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory, and the sectors covered by the pact include, but are not limited to, critical infrastructure and resource extraction.

Why the Chinese think tank urged caution

NISS said the US was unlikely to turn the northern polar region into its “exclusive strategic backyard”. It pointed to Russia, along with America’s Nato allies including Canada and European nations, as forces that could constrain how far a “northward Monroe Doctrine” would go.

That assessment forms the basis of the report’s warning against a confrontational posture. According to the think tank, China could risk being shut out of discussions and engagement around the emerging Arctic order if it responds to the pact in that manner.

The report therefore presents the agreement as a development that requires a measured Chinese response, rather than an immediate confrontation. It also leaves open the possibility that Beijing can continue pursuing engagement in the region, given the policy space identified by NISS.

Source: South China Morning Post