The United States has begun talks with Denmark to increase its military presence in Greenland, in a deal that would fall short of its previous threats to conquer the island.
Washington is seeking access to three bases, including two abandoned former US military bases, to set up airfields and ports, according to a senior general.
It would be the first US military expansion on Greenland in decades, but it would not measure up to Donald Trump’s previous ambitions of taking over the Arctic island or establishing US sovereign bases.
The talks are being held under a 1951 defence pact between Denmark and the United States that allows the latter to build and expand military sites in Greenland, a Danish overseas territory.
Pituffik Space Base is currently the sole US military base in Greenland, on its north-west coast. Operating since the 1951 US-Denmark treaty, it is central to the US early warning and missile defence as well as space surveillance.
Lt-Cdr Teresa C Meadows, a US Northern Command spokesman, said the US wished to expand bases near the southern town of Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq, in the western region.
The Danish government did not immediately comment on a New York Times report that cited a recent briefing by a US general to American legislators and a spokesman for the US military.
The Telegraph understands that ceding sovereignty of Greenland in any form is a red line for Denmark, which could have ruled out a US proposal earlier this year to allow Cyprus-style sovereign bases.
According to The New York Times, Gen Gregory Guillot, the head of US Northern Command, briefed US legislators in mid-March that the military was seeking “increased access to different bases across Greenland as we look at the increasing threat and the strategic importance of Greenland”.
He added: “I’m working with our department and others to try to develop more ports, more airfields, which leads to more options for our secretary and for the president, should we need them up in the Arctic.”
Asked whether Denmark or Greenland had resisted those plans, he said both had been “very supportive” as the talks had been taking place under the 1951 defence agreement.
Protesters gathered in Nuuk in January to march against Donald Trump’s plans to take over Greenland – Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
While Denmark may be content with what seems to be a partial US retreat, Greenlanders are likely to be concerned by the plans to increase US military sites and the environmental risks that come with them.
Denmark, which colonised Greenland in the 1700s, was poised to defend the island from the US in January after Mr Trump threatened to take it by force, citing national security interests.
After a tense stand-off, the two Nato members agreed to hold talks that would address American security concerns, such as allowing the US to build up its military bases.
Mr Trump previously claimed he had to “get” Greenland because of concerns about the growing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic region.
In January, the president also claimed that Greenland specifically was “covered” with Russian and Chinese ships. Danish ministers, security experts and shipping traffic monitors all dismissed the claim as false.