‘We have to be prepared for new security threats’: top diplomat urges Malta

A top Maltese diplomat has urged the authorities to be prepared for new security threats as the post-war rules-based international order continues to buckle under US President Donald Trump’s threats against Greenland.

Julian Vassallo said that although Malta’s membership of the European Union afforded it assistance in the event of security threats, it needs to “take a step back” and “see where our vulnerabilities are”.

Vassallo was recently assigned to a team set up in response to Trump’s threats on Greenland.

Pointing to recent attacks on undersea energy and data cables in the Baltic Sea, he questioned Malta’s readiness should similar incursions take place in the Mediterranean.

“What would happen if the same attacks targeted Malta? These are serious things [and] we are living in a different world. We have benefited from the international rule of law; we have to think about times when this will no longer be the case.

“We have to make sure we are prepared, that we have contingency plans in place for scenarios we would have considered outlandish just a few years ago. It is a serious message – without being alarmist,” Vassallo said.

He was speaking to Times of Malta via video link from Brussels, where he is stationed as part of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic service.

After a stint negotiating the bloc’s relationship with the UK – one, he said, “comes with its own challenges” – Vassallo was asked to join a team set up to deal with the Greenland “crisis” following Trump’s recent overtures on the autonomous Danish region.

The US leader plunged the continent into turmoil last month with a renewed push to take over the Arctic region – not ruling out doing so by military force – claiming the US “needs” the country for security purposes.

The world’s superpowers are eyeing Greenland as trade routes open for longer due to global warming. Photo: Arctic Circle/Wikimedia Commons

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Trump told reporters.

Vassallo said the EU had been “surprised by the justification”, noting that, though Trump claimed the Danish territory was necessary for American security amid purported threats from Russia and China, a 1951 treaty already gives the US military access to the island.

So why the threats?

“We were asking ourselves the same question,” he said. “But the idea that, perhaps, this is mostly about legacy, about being the one who changes the map of the United States, which is celebrating 250 years [of independence] this year, crosses your mind because the other arguments just don’t seem to hold water.”

Addressing Trump’s claims of Russian and Chinese aggression around Greenland, which lies partly within the Arctic Circle, Vassallo said the two countries had “not made any claims” to the region, while hinting that US interest in the island could be more economic than military.

Because, with traditionally inaccessible trade routes through the region now opening for longer as the planet warms from anthropogenic climate change and melting Arctic ice, competition is heating up to capitalise on the opportunity.

“The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth and, therefore, the prospect of being able to use these passages more, for them to be more commercially viable, is what everybody is interested in,” the diplomat explained.

Pointing to reduced transport costs as the ice melts, Vassallo said there was “very strong” Russian activity in the region.

Meanwhile, China has its own interests, including that of establishing an ‘Arctic Silk Road’ linking Eastern China to the UK through the Arctic, he observed, noting the superpower was stepping up icebreaker production in response.

Donald Trump has renewed threats of the US seizing Greenland. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Light-heartedly suggesting that while, at any other time in history, for an EU diplomat to be assigned to Greenland “it would probably signal the end of your diplomatic career”, Vassallo said that was “no longer the case”.

The EU expert, who served in countries like Turkey and the Philippines, described the role as “fascinating” due to the region’s unique geography, newfound geopolitical significance and demography. Although Greenland was not geographically in the EU, its 700,000 citizens were since it is.

'Many Americans are appalled'

Reflecting on the implications of US moves on Greenland, Vassallo stressed the world was “definitely in a new chapter in international affairs; there is an earthquake going on”, with those assuming an inevitable return to the past being “mistaken”.

So, where does this leave Malta?

“As a small country with a small military and not part of a military alliance, [Malta] has a lot of interest in upholding the international rule of law... We depend on it, not just for our security but also our livelihoods.”

And, as Trump’s America teeters ever closer towards naked imperialism, where does this leave EU-US relations?

“It seems like these ideas of taking Greenland are not popular in the United States and... I think there are many Americans who are appalled by the effect that this is having on our bilateral relationship,” said Vassallo.

“And it’s very painful for many Europeans to see a country they considered a friend – for some, their closest and most important friend outside of Europe – turning in such a way,” he said.

“There are some things that have been broken, and they will not be easy to fix.”