The US and Denmark have been negotiating increased military presence in Greenland over recent months, the BBC reported on Tuesday, citing multiple officials familiar with the discussions.
The US is looking to open three new bases in southern Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, according to the BBC.
The White House confirmed involvement in high-level talks with Greenland and Denmark, telling the BBC that the administration was very optimistic about the direction of the negotiation, but declined to comment on details.
Denmark’s foreign ministry also confirmed the talks.
“There is an ongoing diplomatic track with the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not go into further detail at this time,” the BBC quoted a spokesperson as saying.
US suggests sovereign territory in Greenland
According to one source familiar with the negotiations, the US has suggested that the three new military bases be formally designated as US sovereign territory.
The bases would primarily focus on surveillance of potential Russian and Chinese activity in the northern Atlantic between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK (GIUK Gap), officials told the BBC.
US President Donald Trump has previously expressed ambitions to acquire Greenland as a whole for national security reasons, specifically regarding China and Russia.
The shortest route from Europe to North America passes through Greenland, making it important for the US ballistic-missile early-warning system. Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than to Copenhagen.
Greenland sits at a geopolitical crossroads amid Arctic militarisation by NATO, Russia, and China. The US wants to expand its military footprint, including the deployment of radars to monitor waters used by Russian vessels and submarines. The island also holds mineral, oil, and gas wealth, though development has been slow.
However, this idea has not been brought up in negotiations, the BBC reported.
At least one base is proposed to be built on the site of a former US military base in Narsarsuaq, and others would also likely be located on sites in Greenland that have existing infrastructure, such as airfields or ports able to be upgraded.
The negotiations are being led by senior State Department official Michael Needham, the BBC cited a senior diplomat as saying, adding that the administration is “approaching it very professionally.”
Negotiations are aiming to preserve the framework of a 1951 pact between the US and Denmark, which gives the US the ability to expand military operations in Greenland. While the Danish government must approve any US military expansions in the territory, Denmark has never rejected an official US request to expand its presence, according to Arctic security experts.
While the administration is mostly concerned with the Iran war, a small team, including Needham and one or two officials from the State Department or National Security Council, has met with one from Greenland at least five times since mid-January.
However, three sources told the BBC that Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Republican Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, has not been taking part in the negotiations.
“He was supposed to be more of like a rah-rah cheerleader of the idea that we could just flex our muscles and take over Greenland as a security asset,” an unnamed Landry ally told the BBC.
The US currently has a single military base in Greenland, a significant reduction from the approximately 17 facilities it had during the height of the Cold War. The base monitors missiles for NORAD but is not configured to conduct maritime surveillance, the BBC wrote.
Reuters contributed to this report.
