The United States is considering strengthening the presence of its armed forces in Greenland by opening one of its Cold War bases in the south and entering into military operations in the eastern military base, according to people involved in a new security cooperation agreement involving Washington and Denmark and Greenland.
The sites are Narsarsuaq, the former military base of the United States, that was closed in the 1950s, and Mestersvig located in the east coast, where Denmark’s special forces unit, the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, is based. The pact presumably will be finalized Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, when the three policy-makers are expected to sign the deal.
The exact terms of the deal have not yet been fleshed out. Sources there quoted said that there were still some changes to be made in the text before it is signed. Denmark and Greenland governments did not immediately respond to questions for comment and the White House also didn’t comment on the actual details.
Denmark has stated that the agreement would not imply that only the U.S. and Denmark would be responsible for Arctic security, but instead would be part of a broader NATO framework. The agreement “would fortify the security responsibility in the Arctic not just as far as the two countries are concerned”, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
The expansion is planned following months of rowdy conflicts over US President Donald Trump’s demand for more American influence over Greenland. Previous has been the U.S. asserting its strategic interest in the region and refusing to rule out military and economic actions to achieve it, as Trump had already said. Denmark and Greenland have consistently held that Greenland is a part of the Danish Realm, and that its sovereignty should be recognised.
The U.S.A. operated 17 military bases and over 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in Greenland in the Cold War era. At present, the US military operates the Pituffik Space Base, with around 150 American personnel.
The new deal will thus represent a rollout of the existing presence of the US military in Greenland, and Danish officials state that the entire security structure will take into account NATO and respect the sovereignty of the island.