Denmark: Siltanews – News Desk
President Trump refuses to rule out forcibly annexing Greenland. Yet the Danish parliament has just passed a law allowing the US military free access to bases.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem to make any sense. The US president has deeply rattled Denmark by reiterating several times he may invade and occupy the semi-autonomous island of Greenland for “national security” reasons. But rather than looking at how it could bolster its national defenses against a possible even if unlikely incursion, the Danish parliament on June 11 overwhelming approved an agreement to let the US military enter the country whenever it wants, for whatever reason it sees fit.
“[T]he purpose of such presence of US forces is to further the efforts of the Parties to promote peace and security in the areas of mutual interest and benefit and to take part in common defense efforts,” the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) states. Some areas may even be put under the exclusive control of the US, although Greenland which already hosts a US base and the Faroe Islands are excluded.
The DCA was drafted in 2023 with the Biden administration, at a time when transatlantic trust and cooperation were the norm and the notion of an unwelcome US deployment into any Danish territory was inconceivable.
Acknowledging some heightened public opposition to the move ahead of the final parliamentary vote. Ultimately, he told DW, Denmark needs the DCA more than the US does.
Holding off ratification to show displeasure with the White House’s Greenland statements, as some have advocated, would be “pointless” in Jakobsen’s view. He doesn’t think a land grab is actually likely to happen regardless of the president’s bluster, so he advises just keeping Danish angst under wraps. “You saw what happened to Zelenskyy,” when Ukraine’s president tried to argue with Trump, Jakobsen reminded. “He was blown out of the water, and it was fantastic television. We’re not really in a position where we want to do that, so I think you need to be tactical about it.”
And being tactical for this analyst means emphasizing the original intent of the DCA, which is creating the conditions for the US to come quickly to the aid of Denmark in case of emergency.