Denmark, US Sign Agreement Allowing Permanent US Military Presence

A large Danish flag is flown during the Pro Am event prior to the start of the Made in Denmark at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort in Aalborg, Denmark, on May 22, 2019. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Officials from Denmark and the United States have signed a bilateral security agreement that will grant U.S. forces broad access to the Scandinavian country.

The defense cooperation agreement (DCA) will allow the United States to permanently deploy military aircraft to Denmark and grant U.S. forces access to Danish bases in Aalborg, Karup, and Skrydstrup.

The agreement was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen in Washington on Dec. 21.

Mr. Blinken said that the DCA would “further strengthen security collaboration” and “enhance interoperability” between the two nations’ militaries.

“Collectively, these agreements underscore the shared agreement by the United States and our European partners to bolster European and trans-Atlantic security,” he said.

“Denmark remains an essential partner in this effort.”

US–Europe Relationship Key to Countering Russia

The deal with Denmark means that the United States now has broad military access to the entirety of continental Scandinavia, with the exception of the autonomous Finnish territory of Aland.

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The DCA also doesn’t cover the Faroe Islands or Greenland, which are autonomous territories of Denmark.

The United States has signed similar agreements with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden.

Negotiations on the agreement with Denmark began in February 2022, at which time the State Department characterized the agreement as “a natural progression in our decades of security cooperation.”

“The United States and Denmark work closely together on a wide range of issues important to both countries, to the NATO Alliance, and to the rest of the world,” a State Department statement reads.

Cooperation with Denmark is as vital as ever, Mr. Blinken said, because of Russia’s attempted conquest of Ukraine.

“Denmark continues to play a leading role in ensuring Putin’s war on Ukraine remains a strategic failure,” he said at the signing ceremony. “It was one of the first countries to commit to supplying F-16s to Ukraine and to train Ukrainian pilots to fly them.

“Our countries together are committed to enabling Ukraine to stand on its own, and to stand on its own strongly, militarily, economically, democratically.”

When the United States signed a similar agreement with Finland earlier in the week, Russia’s leadership made clear that it hasn’t taken kindly to U.S. efforts to bolster U.S. military presence in Scandinavia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the DCA would create “problems” in the region, and vowed to increase Russian military presence along the Finnish border.

According to the Russian government, it also plans to reorganize some military divisions and deploy more troops in the northwest in response to what it sees as “NATO’s desire to build up military potential near the Russian borders.”

Mr. Rasmussen, who previously served as prime minister of Denmark, said that continued cooperation between the United States and Europe is vital to confronting Russian aggression in Ukraine, terrorism against Israel, and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We both know that peace and stability cannot be taken for granted,” he said. “In a time like this, friends must stick together, and that is what we are doing with this agreement.

“You can always count on us. And we will always count on you.”