In Greenland’s Capital, Growing Danish Military Presence Sparks Concern

Some local officials were unaware of the plans before they were announced.

A Royal Danish Navy vessel prepares to dock in the city of Nuuk, Greenland, on May 4, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Greenlanders are expressing concerns about extensive military investments, including new infrastructure and the stationing of troops in the Arctic territory’s capital, Nuuk, announced by Denmark.

Denmark has said that it developed the plan, which was announced on Oct. 1, in coordination with its territory’s government. The mayor of Nuuk’s municipality is among the Greenlandic politicians who say they were not informed ahead of the announcement, which came amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland.

Although some Greenlanders see the value of additional protection, others worry about disruptions to the culture in their capital, home to fewer than 21,000 people. The developments also cloud dreams of independence.

“We feel like we are being infiltrated by the Danish military,” Kuno Fencker, who serves in Greenland’s Parliament, told The Epoch Times.

Fencker belongs to Naleraq, a centrist, pro-independence party. He said he was not aware of the plans until they made headlines.

Jorgen Boassen, a Greenlandic activist who advocates independence and closer ties to the United States, told The Epoch Times that people in Greenland “feel hopeless and afraid.”

He and Fencker pointed out that the U.S. military presence in Greenland—currently limited to the Pituffik Space Base in the far north—is hundreds of icy miles from Nuuk and other large settlements.

“Why should we have a military base in the capital city?” Boassen asked.

Jorgen Boassen, a Greenlandic activist who favors independence and closer ties with the United States, in Washington, on Aug. 14, 2025. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Jonas Faber, a Greenlandic artist who moved to Canada to return to ancestral Inuit lands, told The Epoch Times he fears that the changes will erode hopes for greater autonomy.

“The indigenous Greenlandic Inuit [are] facing a serious situation,” Faber wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Fencker said the Danish military’s expansion will take Greenland “further away from becoming a sovereign state.”

Billions for Defense

The Danish Ministry of Defence’s $4 billion in new defense spending plans for the Arctic include a new headquarters for Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, which already hosts one of two main sites for the civilian and military authority. Denmark intends to base a new military unit there.

The ministry’s defense agreement also outlines plans to build a new naval quay in Nuuk’s harbor.

A fact sheet from the defense ministry states that “the quay will also be available for use by allies and will benefit civil society when the Danish Armed Forces are not using the space.”

The investments come after Denmark stepped up its military presence in Greenland in June, deploying a frigate and two helicopters.

They also follow Trump’s talk of annexing the territory. He has not ruled out using military force to accomplish that goal.

In August, Denmark’s media cited state intelligence sources to report that U.S. citizens were conducting covert influence operations in Greenland. The alleged campaigns aimed to promote secession.

Under its 2009 home rule agreement, Greenland has authority over many domestic policy areas, but the law still entrusts defense and foreign policy decisions to Denmark.

U.S. Space Force Col. Susan Meyers (L), 821st Space Base Group commander, greets Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, on March 28, 2025. Staff Sgt. Jaime Sanchez/U.S. Space Force

The territory does have a foreign affairs minister who communicates with Denmark’s defense minister.

What little filters down to Greenland’s Parliament may not make it very far, Fencker said.

The body’s Foreign and Security Policy Committee can “sort of [be] informed of what’s going on,” he said, but its members are restricted from keeping other representatives of their parties informed.

“We fully understand there can be some security defense concerns,” he said, citing illegal fishing in the territory’s waters. “But that should always be with full informed consent of the Greenlandic Parliament.”

A Royal Danish Navy vessel prepares to dock in the city of Nuuk, Greenland, on May 4, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The Epoch Times reached out with requests for comment to the chairwoman of that committee, Pipaluk Lynge, and Greenland’s foreign affairs minister, Vivian Motzfeldt. Neither responded.

In an Oct. 13 statement, Avaaraq Olsen, the mayor of the municipality that includes Nuuk, said she had not been alerted to the proposed quay expansion until it was widely publicized. She voiced reservations about how the military presence might alter the culture in Nuuk.

Aleqa Hammond, the chairwoman of the center-left Siumut party, told the Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation that Greenlanders have not been involved enough in decisions about military exercises and other defense initiatives in their territory.

European Militaries Move In

Other European militaries have also made their presence felt in Greenland.

In August, a German naval supply ship, the Berlin, docked in Nuuk ahead of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally drills in Canadian waters.

The Danish Defense Command said the visit was “the first time a German military vessel of Berlin’s size has docked in Nuuk.”

A French naval vessel, the BSAM Garonne, visited Nuuk under similar circumstances shortly thereafter. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot toured the ship on an August visit to Greenland, later telling reporters that “Greenland is not for sale.”

Ships of the German Navy, including the Baden-Wurttemberg frigate (in foreground), sail at twilight during the Andoya "Missile Firing Exercise 2025" military exercise in the North Sea near Harstad, Norway, on Oct. 13, 2025. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The German and French ships participated in part of the larger, Canadian-led Operation NANOOK. The full exercise involved the United States.

In September, Denmark and NATO led the largest military drill on Greenland in modern times. The Arctic Light exercise included France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. No American troops were invited to participate.