The USA and Denmark sign in New York the agreement for the security of Greenland

WashingtonThe United States, Denmark and Greenland have formalized this Tuesday the security agreement by which the defense of the Arctic island is handed over to the US forces. The document was signed by the US President, Donald Trump; the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The agreement comes at a very convenient time for Trump. Six weeks before the legislative elections, the tycoon can brandish the document as an international triumph amidst the unrest over the war in Iran.

When the US president announced the agreement last Friday he assured that the US was being given "permanent control over the security, and all other needs of Greenland" and that the US would "soon" begin to deploy "a large military presence" on the island. Trump boasted about the conditions achieved even though the US currently already has a military base in the north of Greenland, in Pituffik, and has the right to expand its military presence through NATO. One of the big questions, in fact, was whether this new agreement would represent a real change compared to the one signed in 1951.

The evening before the signing of the agreement, sources familiar with the negotiations explained to Reuters and the Danish network DR that the US plans to re-establish a Cold War military base in the south of Greenland, in Narsarsuaq, and to locate a new one on the east coast, in Mestersvig, where the dog sled patrol of the Danish forces is currently located.

Denmark and the government of Greenland confirmed the understanding after Trump's announcement, although they lowered the tycoon's triumphalist tone. Both governments issued official statements over the weekend ensuring that the agreement "recognizes the sovereignty and integrity of the kingdom [of Denmark] and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination".

Annexationist aspirations

After the success of the military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro last January 3rd, Trump intensified threats against Greenland, and reiterated that the United States had to take control of it "the easy way or the hard way". The head of the Greenlandic government, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, hinted on Friday that thanks to the agreement, Trump's annexationist aspirations over the island were off the table.

The fear of a possible hostile action by US forces caused Denmark to send troops to the Arctic island to dynamite the landing strips if Trump decided to carry out his threat. The secret plan assumed that one NATO member considered it plausible that another ally would attack it. Not for this reason does the pact result more reassuring, because it stems from a long campaign of pressure from the USA that has made increasing military dependence on the blackmailing country the lesser evil.

The agreement arrives more than half a year after the "fundamental disagreement" that the Danish and Greenlandic delegation noted during their visit to Washington. Then, the Foreign Ministers of Denmark and Greenland assured that the sovereignty of the island was a "red line for the Kingdom of Denmark", but maintained the channel open with the Americans.

The imperialist claims over the island respond to Trump's theory about the need to control strategic territories for the security of the USA. They also respond to the growing activity of Russia and China following the new maritime routes that are opening up with the melting of the Arctic. This same year, NATO launched the Arctic Sentry initiative to reinforce surveillance and defense of the northern flank, a strategy in which allies with territory or direct interests in the region participate especially.