The US negotiates with Denmark to open new military bases in Greenland

Donald Trump's foreign policy eyes are on the war in Iran, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten about Greenland. So far, little information has been revealed to the media about the negotiations involving Denmark, Greenland, and the United States following the dispute initiated by the US president when he threatened to take control of the Arctic island. However, in recent weeks, newspapers in the Nordic country and the New York Times have indicated that the US military will ensure a greater presence in Greenland. Specifically, the Pentagon is negotiating with Danish diplomats the opening of three new military bases, which would represent the first expansion of the US presence in decades.In a hearing before the U.S. Congress, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, head of the U.S. Northern Command, told lawmakers that the military wanted to have “more access to Greenland.” “We have observed a growing threat along with increasing strategic importance,” he said. Guillot added that they were working “to develop more ports and more airfields in case they are needed in the Arctic.”In the negotiations underway since the beginning of the year, the Danish government has referred to the defense agreement signed in 1951 between the United States and Denmark to point out that the Americans already have very broad military access to Greenland. However, the Pentagon would use this same pact to map out expansion plans for its troops on the autonomous territory, which has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark for over 300 years.Analysts warn that Denmark has little power in its hands to block the opening of new military bases, even though trust with the White House has been broken since Trump arrived. In January, the Nordic country's army even made plans to blow up Greenland's airfields and prepared to provide blood reserves for its soldiers to face an American invasion, details revealed by Danish public television DR in March.A defense agreement very favorable to the US

A very favorable defense agreement for the USThe Danish broadcaster DR has reported that in recent weeks, US Marine Corps officials have visited the enclave of Narsarsuaq, in the south of the island, where they have examined the port conditions and accommodation options in the area, which has a hotel. From the New York Times it has also been learned that the other point of interest for the US military is the old airport of Kangerlussuaq, on the southwest coast. These two enclaves already hosted US military bases during World War II and the Cold War, but they were abandoned and handed over to the Danish authorities, and much of their military infrastructure was dismantled.Trump's urgencies to expand the North American presence in Greenland clash with the little attention the US has paid to it in the last fifty years. Under the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II, the US helped defend the Arctic territory by sending thousands of troops and establishing dozens of military bases. Of that presence, today only the remote American base of Pituffik remains operational, where a hundred soldiers are deployed.According to the Pentagon, negotiations with Denmark and Greenland "seem to be going well",New York Timestold a source, while Commander Guillot cited that the governments of Denmark and Greenland "are very, very cooperative". According to the existing defense agreement, which was updated in 2004, the US is supposed to "consult and inform" the authorities in Copenhagen and Nuuk before making a major change in military presence. But senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Ulrik Pram Gad, emphasizes that, although "Denmark and Greenland can say no, in practice this never happens, because if they do, the US could argue that they have to take control of the island for themselves".On the other hand, the element not covered in the current agreement, Gad points out, would be to establish “a North American monopoly on resources, or a White House veto on Chinese investments in the Arctic territory.” “Trump probably wants this, but the governments of Denmark and Greenland would find it very difficult to accept”, says the expert.However, Greenlanders have overwhelmingly spoken out against Trump, "and right now there is concern about the increase in the US military presence," says Gad. Nevertheless, he considers that "it is good news that there are diplomatic negotiations away from the media spotlight to resolve the crisis, although with Trump everything is unpredictable."