Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service has issued a warning in its latest annual assessment, highlighting increased U.S. assertiveness under President Donald Trump’s administration. The report notes that this shift coincides with efforts by China and Russia to weaken Western influence globally, particularly that of the United States. As a NATO and EU member allied with Washington, Denmark is especially attentive to rising geopolitical tensions in the Arctic region.
The document emphasizes that the Arctic’s strategic significance is growing amid escalating friction between Russia and Western nations. It points out that heightened American military and security engagement in the area will likely accelerate these dynamics. This concern follows the release of a new U.S. national security strategy under Trump, which portrays European allies as militarily and economically weak while aiming to reestablish dominance across the Western Hemisphere.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously voiced concerns over NATO’s Arctic activities, pledging to enhance Russia’s military presence in response. The Danish report echoes broader anxieties in Western Europe about a more unilateral U.S. foreign policy approach, one that prioritizes bilateral arrangements over traditional multilateral alliances such as NATO.
According to the assessment, many non-Western countries now view aligning with China as a feasible alternative to partnering with the United States. It states that Beijing and Moscow, along with other sympathetic states, are actively working to erode Western global influence. At the same time, uncertainty persists regarding how Washington will allocate its resources moving forward, giving regional powers greater flexibility to align with either superpower or maintain a balancing act.
The Trump administration has also drawn scrutiny for actions challenging international norms, including lethal operations against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific—part of a broader campaign targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Additionally, Trump has not ruled out the use of military force in relation to Greenland, where the U.S. already maintains a strategic base.
“The United States is using its economic clout, including threats of steep tariffs, to enforce its interests,” the report concludes. “Moreover, the prospect of applying military power—even against allied nations—is no longer dismissed.”
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Danish intelligence report warns of US economic leverage and military threat under Trump
The Danish Defense Intelligence Service, in its latest annual assessment, said Washington’s greater assertiveness under the Trump administration also comes as China and Russia seek to diminish Western, especially American, influence. n nPerhaps most sensitive to Denmark — a NATO and European Union member country, and a U.S. ally — is growing competition between those great powers in the Arctic. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to see Greenland, a semiautonomous and mineral-rich territory of Denmark, become part of the United States, a move opposed by Russia and much of Europe. n n“The strategic importance of the Arctic is rising as the conflict between Russia and the West intensifies, and the growing security and strategic focus on the Arctic by the United States will further accelerate these developments,” said the report, published Wednesday. n nThe assessment also follows the release last week of a new Trump administration national security strategy that depicts European allies as weak and aims to reassert America’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere. n nRussian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region. n nThe findings and analyses in the report echo a string of recent concerns, notably in Western Europe, about an increasingly go-it-alone approach by the United States, which under Trump’s second term has favored bilateral deals and partnerships at the expense of multilateral alliances like NATO. n n“For many countries outside the West, it has become a viable option to forge strategic agreements with China rather than the United States,” read the report, which was written in Danish. “China and Russia, together with other like-minded states, are seeking to reduce Western – and particularly US – global influence.” n n“At the same time, uncertainty has grown over how the United States will prioritize its resources in the future,” it added. “This gives regional powers greater room for maneuver, enabling them to choose between the United States and China or to strike a balance between the two.” n nThe Trump administration has raised concerns about respect for international law with its series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean — part of a stepped-up pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. n nTrump has also refused to rule out military force in Greenland, where the United States already has a military base. n n“The United States is leveraging economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to assert its will, and the possibility of employing military force – even against allies – is no longer ruled out,” the report said.