U.S. to Open Two Military Bases in Greenland Under New Deal
The United States will open two military bases in Greenland under a deal with Denmark and Greenland expected to be signed Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Al Jazeera reported the plan, citing Reuters, and said at least two new U.S. bases will be set up under the arrangement.
The locations described so far are on opposite coasts. The plan is to reopen a former Cold War-era base in southern Greenland and to set up a U.S. military presence at a base on the east coast, according to sources cited by Reuters. Reuters first reported those details on September 21. The text of the agreement had not been made public as of September 22.
President Trump announced a deal with Denmark to expand the U.S. military presence in Greenland, NPR reported on September 19. The United States and Denmark reached a new agreement on defense and investment in Greenland, Politico reported on September 18. Greenland is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, meaning it manages much of its domestic affairs while Denmark handles defense and foreign policy.
The figure of two bases updates earlier reporting. U.S. officials had sought to open three new bases in southern Greenland, BBC reported in May. The latest reporting points to two. That number is still based on sources, since no official text has been released.
The legal background has several layers. Denmark and the United States have an agreement dated 27 April 1951 on the defence of Greenland, the basic rulebook for U.S. military access. A separate Denmark-United States defense cooperation agreement lets American personnel use three Danish air bases at Karup, Skrydstrup and Aalborg. Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland concluded two new agreements in 2025 to strengthen defence and security in the Arctic.
The broader context here is basing as diplomacy. Washington already holds rights tied to Greenland under the 1951 framework. New sites in the south and east would spread the U.S. footprint across more ground instead of building up a single place. For Copenhagen, a joint signature with Nuuk shows defense decisions go through the Kingdom with Greenlandic consent. For Nuuk, the investment side of the deal counts alongside the military side. The venue also counts. Holding the signing at the General Assembly places the deal before allies and critics at the same time.
Looking at what this means for next steps, the missing text is the main issue. Basing deals usually spell out duration, jurisdiction, which means who has legal authority, construction rights, environmental responsibility, and rules for expansion. None of those terms have been published. A second issue is timing. Reopening an old installation and starting an east coast presence have different timelines, costs, and supply needs. A third is connection. The agreement covers both defense and investment, so the two parts must be read together to understand access, funding, and any promises on infrastructure or minerals. Until the text appears, the numbers and locations are plans tied to sources, not treaty language.
