The United States reportedly plans to reopen a Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and station forces at an eastern outpost currently operated by Denmark’s Sirius Dog Sled Patrol.
The moves are part of a broader security agreement that the US, Denmark and Greenland are expected to sign Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
The two sites include Narsarsuaq, where the US previously operated the Bluie West One base before closing it in the 1950s, and Mestersvig, a military outpost used by the Sirius Patrol, a Danish special forces unit.
Details of the agreement have not been made public and may not be finalized until the three governments sign the pact on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to the report. The White House and the governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agreement follows President Donald Trump’s sustained push for greater US control over Greenland. Trump has previously declined to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory, prompting concern in Greenland and tensions among NATO allies.
Greenland has repeatedly maintained that it is not for sale, while the European Union earlier this year joined calls opposing Trump’s renewed push to acquire the island.
However, Trump said last Friday that he was satisfied with the new agreement, claiming it addresses “ALL of our many U.S. concerns” at no cost to the United States.
Greenland’s government said the deal would strengthen the security of Greenland, Denmark, the US and the wider Western alliance. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark, as well as the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday also urged Arctic allies, including Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Norway and Sweden, to increase defence spending in the region.
Rubio stressed the need for stronger sovereign military and economic capabilities, alongside investment in critical infrastructure.
The broader agreement would reportedly prevent non-NATO countries, particularly China and Russia, from establishing a military presence in Greenland and restrict sensitive investments by non-allies in the territory’s critical minerals and mining sectors.
Melting sea ice has opened new Arctic shipping routes and increased access to mineral deposits, intensifying strategic competition among the US, Russia and China.
During the Cold War, the US maintained 17 military installations in Greenland, with more than 10,000 personnel stationed across the territory. Today, Pituffik Space Base remains the only active US military installation in Greenland, with about 150 American personnel.
Boluwatife Enome
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