Danish intelligence has placed Greenland at the top of its national security agenda for the first time following Donald Trump’s pursuit of the vast Arctic territory.

Greenlanders and politicians in Denmark reacted with horror earlier this year when it emerged the US president had suggested buying the island on numerous occasions with staff after hearing about its natural resources and geopolitical importance.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen later made clear the semi-autonomous territory was “not for sale”, leading to a diplomatic crisis when Mr Trump cancelled a planned meeting with Ms Frederiksen, branding her comments “nasty”.

The country’s Defence Intelligence Service (FE) linked the change in priority – Greenland is now ahead of terrorism and cybercrime – to America’s interest in the island, the BBC reported.

Lars Findsen, chief of FE, told the corporation the Greenland is at the heart of a “power game” unfolding in the Arctic between the US and other major powers.

Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating Show all 22 1 /22 Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: Icebergs float jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord in a bank of fog during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this aerial view meltwater forms a lake on an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: An iceberg looms behind a boat carrying tourists at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Visitors look out onto free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view melting ice forms a lake on free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: A boat carrying tourists motors past an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Free-floating ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Humpback whales spout water as they swim next to an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Icebergs and ice float in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 31: Tourists on an excursion boat photograph an iceberg during unseasonably warm weather on July 31, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Inuit fishermen prepare a net as free-floating ice floats behind at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Water drips from ice in the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: An iceberg floats in Disko Bay behind houses during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 in Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view melting ice forms a lake on free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane rivers of meltwater carve into the Greenland ice sheet near Sermeq Avangnardleq glacier on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Visitors walk among free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: Whales swim among icebergs jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe also reached Greenland earlier this week. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane icebergs float in Disko Bay at sunset on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Flowers stand on a hillside at the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 03: A massive iceberg floating in the Ilulissat Icefjord peeks through a bank of fog during a week of unseasonably warm weather on August 3, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX*** Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane humpback whales swim next to an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images

“We have decided to start this year’s Intelligence Risk Assessment with a chapter on the Arctic, as the interests of the great powers in the Arctic have direct impact on and growing significance for the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

“Despite the Arctic nations’ shared ambition to keep the region free of security policy disagreements, the military focus on the Arctic is growing. A power game is unfolding between great powers Russia, the United States and China that deepens tensions in the region.”

Greenland is gaining attention from the global superpowers due to its strategic location and mineral resources.

In May, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said Russia was behaving aggressively in the Arctic and China’s actions there had to be watched closely as well.

A defence treaty between Denmark and the US gives Washington rights in northern Greenland over Thule Air Base, which detects potential intercontinental ballistic missile threats against North America.

Despite being the largest island in the world, Greenland is home to little more than 55,000 people (istock)

Greenland is part of Denmark with self-government over domestic affairs, while Copenhagen handles defence and foreign policy.