Greenland welcomes US military pact but trust still shaky

Greenland’s government and residents expressed relief that a military pact with the United States and Denmark may end anxiety over President Donald Trump’s threats to seize their Arctic island, but many remain distrustful of Washington.

“I am incredibly relieved and think the outcome is very sensible. We can be satisfied,” Naaja Nathanielsen, a Greenlandic MP in the Danish parliament, told Reuters.

Parliament speaker Kim Kielsen urged households to raise the Greenlandic flag on Wednesday. Activist and influencer Orla Joelsen encouraged residents in the capital, Nuuk, to show up at the airport to welcome the prime minister and foreign minister back from New York, where they struck the deal.

The agreement allows the U.S. to expand its military presence on Greenland, reopening Cold War-era bases in the settlements of Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, with a prospect of renewed spending and employment potential.

But it stopped short of Trump’s unsettling previous demand that the U.S. annex Greenland to head off the growing Arctic presence of Russia and China.

“There has previously been a significant American presence in Greenland, so this is nothing new,” added Nathanielsen. “However, in light of the unrest over the past few years, there is likely greater scepticism in Greenland, and consequently, work needs to be done to reassure the local population.”

The U.S. first built military bases in Greenland during World War II. During the Cold War, it maintained 17 military installations and more than 10,000 personnel to monitor Soviet forces. Today, only Pituffik Space Base remains, with some 150 U.S. military personnel.

Pitanguaq Mikissen, 69, a retired ship assistant, said the potential reopening of some old U.S. bases gave greater security to the territory’s 57,000 people.

But not all residents were happy.

“I think that Trump is really good at creating a lot of worry and a lot of fear,” said Jensia Dam-Davidsen, 40, a voice and choir teacher.

“It (the deal) seems wrong in every way — especially now that Denmark has expanded their military presence here.”

Denmark has significantly increased its own military footprint in Greenland since Trump’s threats peaked in January, deploying additional troops, boosting Arctic defence spending and hosting allies under military exercises.

Malene Vahl Rasmussen, mayor of Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, where the U.S. is looking to reopen the Narsasuaq military base, said that under the agreement, U.S. military expansion must respect the Greenlandic way of life to protect hunting and fishing.

“You can’t simply say, ‘OK, we’ve signed this, so now we trust you again’. Trust really needs to be rebuilt within that partnership,” she told Reuters.

Some Greenlanders worry that expanded military activity — including increased aircraft and vessel movement — could disrupt hunting and fishing grounds that communities rely on for a living, though the agreement states such activity must respect Greenlandic society and traditional ways of life.

格陵兰政府和居民表示，与美国和丹麦达成的军事协议可能会结束对唐纳德·特朗普总统威胁要夺取其北极岛屿的担忧，这让他们感到欣慰，但许多人仍然对华盛顿不信任。

“我感到无比欣慰，认为这个结果非常明智。我们可以感到满意了。”丹麦议会格陵兰籍议员娜娅·纳撒尼尔森告诉路透社。

议长金·基尔森呼吁家家户户在周三升起格陵兰国旗。活动家兼网络红人奥拉·乔尔森鼓励首都努克的居民前往机场迎接总理和外交部长从纽约凯旋，他们正是在纽约达成了这项协议。

该协议允许美国扩大其在格陵兰岛的军事存在，重新开放冷战时期在纳尔萨克和梅斯特斯维格定居点的基地，有望带来新的支出和就业潜力。

但它并未像特朗普之前那样提出令人不安的要求，即美国吞并格陵兰岛，以阻止俄罗斯和中国在北极地区日益增长的影响力。

“美国此前在格陵兰岛一直拥有大量驻军，所以这并非什么新鲜事，”纳撒尼尔森补充道。“然而，鉴于过去几年的动荡局势，格陵兰岛民众的疑虑可能会更大，因此，需要开展一些工作来安抚当地民众。”

美国在二战期间首次在格陵兰岛建立军事基地。冷战期间，美国在格陵兰岛维持着17个军事设施，驻扎着超过1万名人员，以监视苏联军队。如今，仅剩皮图菲克航天基地，驻扎着约150名美军人员。

69 岁的退休船舶助理皮坦瓜克·米基森表示，一些旧美军基地的潜在重新开放，为该地区的 57,000 人带来了更大的安全保障。

但并非所有居民都感到满意。

“我认为特朗普非常擅长制造很多担忧和恐惧，”40岁的声乐和合唱老师詹西亚·达姆-戴维森说道。

“这项交易在各方面都显得不妥——尤其是在丹麦扩大了在丹麦的军事存在之后。”

自特朗普的威胁在 1 月份达到顶峰以来，丹麦已大幅增加了在格陵兰岛的军事存在，部署了更多军队，增加了北极地区的国防开支，并接待盟友进行军事演习。

格陵兰岛南部库亚莱克市市长马莱内·瓦尔·拉斯穆森表示，根据协议，美国在格陵兰岛南部的军事扩张必须尊重格陵兰岛的生活方式，以保护狩猎和捕鱼活动。美国正计划重新开放纳尔萨苏阿克军事基地。

她告诉路透社：“你不能简单地说，‘好吧，我们签了合同，所以我们现在又信任你了’。这种合作关系中的信任确实需要重建。”

一些格陵兰人担心，扩大的军事活动（包括增加飞机和船只的移动）可能会扰乱社区赖以生存的狩猎和捕鱼场，尽管该协议规定此类活动必须尊重格陵兰社会和传统生活方式。