JD Vance and his wife visit US military base on Greenland

Fri, 28 Mar, 2025 - 17:31

Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated Press

Vice President JD Vance, his wife and other senior US officials have visited an American military base in Greenland in a trip that was scaled back after Greenlanders and Danes were angered that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them.

Soon after arriving, Mr Vance briefly addressed US troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the administration of Donald Trump is very interested in “Arctic security”.

“As you all know, it’s a big issue and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decades,” Mr Vance said, noting that he was the first US vice president to visit Greenland.

The revised trip came as relations between the US and the Nordic country soured after Donald Trump repeatedly suggested the United States should, in some form, control the mineral-rich semi-autonomous territory of Denmark — a traditional US ally and Nato member.

JD Vance and Usha Vance ate a meal with soldiers (Jim Watson/Pool via AP)

Friday’s one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the north-west coast of Greenland, has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation.

It also reduced the likelihood that Mr Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Mr Trump’s annexation announcements.

Ahead of the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new, broad-based coalition government, banding together to resist Mr Trump’s designs on the territory.

People take part in a march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was originally set for three days, created “unacceptable pressure”.

On Thursday, she was cited by Danish public broadcaster DR as saying: “We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”

Initially, Usha Vance had announced a solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut.

People at a demonstration march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, in Nuuk, Greenland (Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Her husband then subsequently said he would join her on that trip, only to change that itinerary again, after protests from Greenland and Denmark, to a one-day visit by the couple to the military post only.

Nonetheless, in an interview on Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his desire for US control of Greenland.

Asked if the people there were “eager” to become US citizens, Mr Trump said he did not know “but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them”.

Inhabitants of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, which is about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) south of Pituffik, voiced concern about Mr Vance’s visit and the US interest in their island.

Cora Hoy, 22, said Mr Vance was “welcome if he wants to see it but of course Greenland is not for sale”.

Of course you don’t do things this way. You don’t just come here and say that you want to buy the place

She added that “it’s not normal around here” with all the attention Greenland is getting.

“I feel now every day is about (Trump) and I just want to get away from it.”

“It’s all a bit crazy. Of course the population here is a bit shook up,” said Inuk Kristensen, 30.

“My opinion is the same as everyone’s: Of course you don’t do things this way. You don’t just come here and say that you want to buy the place.”

As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.

The remote Pituffik Space Base is the US Department of Defence’s northernmost installation.

The base was built following a 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US. It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato.

The Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, in northern Greenland (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file)

The Pituffik base is located about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) north of the the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometres (947 miles) south of the North Pole.

The base is locked in by ice for nine months of the year, but its airfield remains open all year round. It is in constant darkness from November to February and constant daylight from May to August.

It is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and is also home to the world’s northernmost deepwater sea port.

During his first term, Mr Trump floated the idea of purchasing the world’s largest island, even as Denmark insisted it was not for sale.

The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Mr Trump’s plans.

Mr Vance has several times criticised long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonising partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the US.

In the meantime, opponents of Mr Trump’s plans to control Greenland announced a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday, DR reported on Thursday.