US Breaks Allies' Trust for Covert Military Plans in Thule Airbase, Greenland

US Breaks Allies' Trust for Covert Military Plans in Thule Base, Greenland

(Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Washington should inform its allies of US military plans to improve the Thule airbase in Greenland.

Washington has a spat with Greenland due to keeping US military plans for the Thule airbase should be open, not undisclosed. These bases are vital to the US expansion in the Arctic, where Greenland is close by.

US Secret Plan To Build Military Power

Reports say the US has plans to invest in an Arctic military expansion, spending on the American base found in Northern Greenland as claimed by Danish media Berlingske.

The information was drawn from a report made by a US oversight committee linked to the matter. Statements by the outlet said the non-classified parts of the report made suggested that it would cost billions to establish the old US arctic base. It was built during World War Two.

Base facilities are declining, and the US Air Force has shown interest in revamping it, according to the newspaper, reported Sputnik News.

Neither the outlet of the Greenlandic authorities nor the Danish parliament is informed of what specific improvements will be implemented, which raises doubts about the United States' intention, sources say.

Pipaluk Lynge Rasmussen, chairman of the Foreign and Security Policy Committee in the Greenlandic parliament and a member of the ruling party IA, says he does not know what the US will do with upgrades, noted The Local.

She added that the government wants to know the plans to be part of it, to be aware of everything about the project when asked by the paper. Upgrading the Thule airbase by Washington about US military plans is not on the agenda of Greenland or Denmark.

Greenland Official Says US Must Disclose Plans

IA MP Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, representing Greenland in Denmark, made a point to highlight the importance of the US government keeping them in the loop and not hiding anything.

Under all existing agreements between the United States, Greenland, and Denmark, Washington must inform Denmark and Greenland before making any significant modifications to the US military activities in Greenland that have been ongoing for decades.

The US Space Force's northernmost base, located 1,210 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometers from the North Pole, is home to the global network of missile warning and space surveillance sensors.

Greenland is a distant, desolate part of the Danish Realm with a population of fewer than 57,000 people. A colony until 1953, and after obtaining home rule in 1979, it's now a semi-autonomous region.

There is considerable autonomy and can comment on most issues but depends on Copenhagen's annual locked subsidies. About a third of Greenland's budget comes from there.

As a part of the Danish region, though full independence is growing as represented by several parties, the US could take advantage of 1951, giving it control without advising the government, noted Worldakkam.

Since 1867, the United States has considered or even made several propositions to buy the island from Denmark, the most recent of which occurred during the Trump administration. Muddled relations between Washington and Copenhagen ended in canceled state visits, mentioned Fars News.

Washington and its relations with Greenland are muddled by unclear military plans for the Thule airbase that concerns Denmark and Greenland and how it will impact them.