The Thulesag 1 agreement,[5] signed on 9 April 1941, gave the Federal Government of the United States the right to assist Greenland to maintain its (non-German) status.
The United States continued to be interested in a permanent military presence due to the increasing tensions of the Cold War; however, Greenland was expected to remain under sole Danish control by the public.
[clarification needed] Since overseas territories, such as Greenland, could hardly be protected by a Scandinavian Defence Alliance, Denmark's integration into NATO was likely to happen.
However, Denmark saw itself in a position to circumvent agreements with the American superpower, which was based solely on bilateral negotiations, and to guarantee Greenland's sovereignty for the future.
Article 5, paragraph 3, guaranteed the US and its troops unrestricted freedom of operation between these bases, on land, air, and sea, throughout the entire national territory.
Article 6 obliged the US "to show due respect for all regulations and customs affecting the population and the administration of Greenland".
[15][16] The country's naval presence and activities are based on close relationships with the local populations and authorities of both Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
[17] It is in no doubt important to the Danish armed forces' future presence in the Arctic to continue to strengthen and develop this relationship.
[18] The consequences of climate change will likely not only bring better maritime accessibility but also an increased interest in the extraction of natural resources, as well as intensified scientific and commercial activity.
Military efforts in the Arctic are strengthened by:[20] New naval ships solve environmental protection and pollution control tasks.
The Navy is thus used by various agencies to carry out search and rescue, navigation assistance, environmental protection, and fisheries inspections, in addition to sovereignty and maritime surveillance.
Responsibility for coast guard tasks, therefore, falls under the first squadron headquarters in Frederikshavn, as well as the newly established Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland (Danish Ministry of Defence 2011).
The Joint Arctic Command is responsible for overseeing all maritime activity in the waters around Greenland and the Faroe Islands so that the Danish Navy and the local authorities are in close coordination in crisis situations in the High North.
The new vessels will incorporate a modular concept enabling packages of different systems (for minehunting or minelaying for example) to be fitted to individual ships as may be required.
In addition to naval units, Greenland's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) is able to call on C-130J and Challenger 604 aircraft of the Royal Danish Air Force if available.
[24][25] In early 2024, agreement was reached in the Danish Parliament on a defence package that incorporated the planned future deployment of improved surveillance assets in Greenland consisting of long-range UAVs.