Having Secured Regional 'Security', US Plans to Open Two New Bases

The United States plans to build two military bases in Greenland. This step is part of a strategic agreement to be signed alongside Denmark and Greenland.

Citing Reuters on Tuesday (22/09/2026), three sources familiar with the matter stated that this trilateral agreement is scheduled to be signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday at 10:30 local time (ET).

The two selected locations for the bases are Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig. Narsarsuaq was formerly the US-owned Bluie West One military base in the 1950s, though its population has since drastically shrunk to just a few dozen people. Meanwhile, Mestersvig currently operates as a military outpost used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit.

The text of the agreement has not yet been published, and details are unlikely to be finalised until the document is officially signed. The governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the agreement, merely reiterating the official statement.

“The signing on Tuesday will secure and maintain the security of Greenland and the United States,” the spokesperson stated.

Denmark has indicated that the agreement effectively places the security of the Arctic region under the oversight of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, rather than leaving it solely as the responsibility of the US and Denmark.

This surprising deal was reached after months of intense pressure from US President Donald Trump. Trump has long voiced his ambition to have the US control Greenland, and at several points, refused to rule out the use of military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

According to poll results, the idea was actually rejected outright by the majority of Greenland’s population. Trump’s series of threats, which peaked last January, ultimately triggered a diplomatic crisis within NATO, while simultaneously driving Denmark and Greenland to the negotiating table with Washington to ease the pressure.

For context, during the Cold War era, the US was recorded to have maintained 17 military installations and stationed over 10,000 military personnel in the Greenland region. However, that presence has nearly vanished, with only the Pituffik Space Base remaining, housing approximately 150 US military personnel.