The US is seeking to expand its military presence in Greenland just two months after President Donald Trump threatened to take over the island.
According to American military officials, Washington is seeking access to three additional bases on the Arctic territory, including two that they had previously abandoned.
It follows days of tension between Trump and Europe after the US leader said he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing America from Nato over a lack of support in the Iran war, which has driven a further wedge between him and other western leaders.
In a congressional hearing in mid-March, General Guillot, head of the US Northern Command, told lawmakers that the military sought “increased access to different bases across Greenland as we look at the increasing threat and the strategic importance of Greenland”, according to the New York Times.
“I’m working with our department and others to try to develop more ports, more airfields, which leads to more options for our secretary and for the president, should we need them up in the Arctic,” he added.
Both Denmark and Greenland had been “very supportive” of the proposal, he suggested.
Lt Cdr Teresa C Meadows, a US Northern Command spokesperson, said the US sought to plant bases near the southern town of Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq, in the western region.
The plan for an increased American presence over the autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is being considered under the 1951 Danish-American defence pact.
The treaty already allows the US sweeping military access to Greenland and was used to push back against Trump’s threats to previously seize the entire territory, which he considered crucial to America’s strategic interests.
At the moment, the Pituffik Space Base is the sole US military base in the territory and is situated on the north-west coast of the island. It is central to early warning and missile defence as well as space surveillance for the US.
Ceding sovereignty of Greenland is a red line for Denmark, who have ruled out any suggestion of sovereign bases akin to those in Cyprus, according to the Telegraph.
Trump has had his eyes on Greenland since 2019, when he first publicly floated the idea of purchasing the territory from Denmark.
Earlier this year, Europe was thrown into mayhem after Trump said that the US “needed” Greenland and demanded control of the territory “right now”, threatening to impose extortionate tariffs on countries that prevented the move or disagreed.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he told The Atlantic in January. “We need it for defence.”
Trump faced widespread backlash from the European Union and several European leaders hit back at the threats, some sending military assets to the territory amid fears of annexation. Large protests broke out across the territory, attended by around a quarter of the capital Nuuk.
He backed down in an address at Davos in January and pledged not to use force to seize the territory in what was considered another TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) moment for the president, an acronym used to describe his U-turn on several issues after issuing aggressive threats.
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