President Donald Trump has signed a new security agreement with Denmark and Greenland that expands the U.S. military presence on the Arctic island, building on a defense treaty that has governed American military access there for 75 years. The agreement, signed Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, adds new American defense sites and gives Washington a long-term role in Greenland's security. Unlike the 1951 U.S.-Danish Defense Agreement, the pact also includes Greenland and grants the U.S. veto power on certain sensitive foreign investments in the region.
The security deal follows months of tension over Trump's demand that the United States acquire the territory. Trump described the agreement in his U.N. speech as giving the United States "permanent control over security and all other needs" in Greenland. "No U.S. adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland any more, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval," he continued.
The president also announced that the U.S. would build two "very major military bases" on the Arctic island, which remains under Danish control. Denmark has said the arrangement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination, while giving Washington a larger military role in Greenland. The original U.S.-Danish Defense Agreement was signed in 1951 as part of the NATO security framework.
It allowed the United States to establish defense areas in Greenland and gave American forces extensive rights to build and operate military facilities, station personnel and conduct military activities within those areas. The treaty also preserved Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The United States eventually operated numerous military installations across the island during the Cold War.
At its height, the American presence included 17 installations and more than 10,000 personnel. Today, the U.S. presence is centered on Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, where roughly 150 American military personnel are stationed. The 1951 agreement was amended in 2004, bringing Greenland's Home Rule government into the defense arrangement.
The most visible change will be the expansion of American military infrastructure. The United States plans to reopen Narsarsuaq, a former Cold War-era American base in southern Greenland, and establish a military presence at Mestersvig on the island's east coast. Narsarsuaq was once home to the U.S. base known as Bluie West One, which the American military closed in the 1950s.
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