JD Vance directed great criticism at Denmark when he visited the American military base Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.

U.S. Vice President, JD Vance, believes that Denmark's management of security in the Arctic and Greenland is both deficient and a failure.

During his visit to the American base Pituffik Space Base in Northwest Greenland, he argued that Greenland should leave the Commonwealth for security reasons.

We respect the Greenlanders' right to self-determination. We believe in self-determination. But it would be better for Greenland to come under the U.S. security umbrella than it has been under Denmark's security umbrella.

But Vance forgets that Greenland, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is a NATO territory, and that Denmark and the United States have a defense agreement on security in Greenland and the Arctic from 1951, which was updated in 2004 with Greenland as a co-signatory.

'A higher knowledge base'

The agreement from 1951 – which, together with a number of supplementary agreements, is still in force – states that the U.S. military can move freely on land, at sea and in the air in Greenland, as long as this is done without restricting the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Government of the United States of America, as a party to the North Atlantic Treaty, shall be able to assist the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark in the establishment and/or operation of the defence areas, if necessary for the development of the defence of Greenland and the rest of the North Atlantic Treaty area, as stated in the Defence Agreement from 1951.

This is precisely what Denmark's Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M), highlighted last night:

Now he (JD Vance, ed.) has been to Pituffik and received a briefing, and that, I hope, will establish a higher knowledge base, said Løkke Rasmussen.

Because the USA and Denmark actually have a collective responsibility for Greenland's defence and security, cf. the 1951 defense agreement:

The Governments of the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States of America (will, ed.), by uniting their efforts for collective defense, for the maintenance of peace and security, and for the development of their collective ability to resist armed attack, each shall take such steps as are necessary or expedient for the rapid solution of the individual and joint tasks in Greenland for the performance of which they are responsible according to NATO plans.

From 10,000 to about 200

So when JD Vance criticises the Danish failure to provide security in Greenland and the Arctic, the criticism should rightly also be directed at the United States. The United States has continuously closed bases or transferred them to Denmark or Greenland. For example:

• Bluie East Two in Ikateq and Bluie West One in Narsarsuaq were closed in the late 1940s.
• Narsarsuaq Air Base was closed in 1958.
• Søndre Strømfjord Air Base (now Kangerlussuaq Airport) was transferred to Greenland in 1992.
• Grønnedal (Kangilinnguit), a naval station, was transferred to Denmark in 1951 and closed by Denmark in 2012.

Previously, the United States had 17 military bases or installations and more than 10,000 personnel stationed in Greenland. Now, the United States has Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Base, with about 200 personnel.

Source: DR.dk (in Danish)

Also read the publication:
Danish Experts: Vance's Speech was Heated Rhetoric, but Denmark and Greenland Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief