2026 will be consequential in many ways. What has been unleashed by Donald Trump in Venezuela, and what is likely to find further expression in Greenland, and by extension, how it might impact NATO and traditional alliances which have held the post-WWII order to date, all seem under review. No one knows which way it might settle and how the collective wisdom of Europe and the traditional West will grapple with the juggernaut named Trump, emerging from across the Atlantic Ocean and threatening the Arctic region. What was previously inaccessible, the Arctic now sits at the centre of the new game.

The changing global climate and melting ice caps in the Arctic now enable an evolving sea route that can be as consequential as the Straits of Malacca and Hormuz. It will not only be the shortest route between continents, it will also convey and carry goods and commodities, and influence those who dominate the region. Russian missiles fly the fastest and the shortest over this region into their intended targets, likely the US and its bases in Alaska and Greenland.

Denmark, which to date has been a nice, quiet place to retire in and have some fun with an easy life, is being stressed under this great power rivalry since it holds the keys and ownership to the two most critical real estate parcels in this region, Greenland and Iceland. The US wants those under it to forward deploy its defences and have an easy reach into the depths of the Arctic region to own and explore what riches are held locked down in its unravelling and melting terrain. The new great game has just been unleashed.

How it will impact Russia and China is yet to be determined. But the Chinese are known to have been navigating through........

© The Express Tribune