(Photo credit: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP photo)The Cradle
SEP 19, 2026
Washington has sought to annex Greenland to control Arctic transit, secure access to critical rare-earth minerals, and counter the influence of Russia and China
US President Donald Trump on 18 September announced a deal with Denmark that will allegedly grant Washington “permanent” security control in Greenland and ensure Russia and China will not gain influence in the strategic Arctic territory.
“I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns,” Trump announced via social media.
After returning to office last year, Trump repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland, a semiautonomous region of NATO member Denmark, saying he would either purchase it or seize it by force.
The text of the agreement has not been made public.
However, a State Department official told NBC News that the agreement will remain in effect “forever,” including if Greenland becomes independent from Denmark.
The US military has had a presence in Greenland since 1951, when missile early-warning systems were installed there as part of the Cold War against the Soviet Union.
However, the agreement will allow the Pentagon to drastically expand its footprint on the island.
Trump stated that the US will immediately begin developing a “large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many.”
“The agreement explicitly guarantees the United States the complete ability to do what it deems is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the American continent, including permanent access, basing, and overflight rights,” the State Department official said.
This agreement reportedly bans any non-NATO base or troop presence in the territory. It includes provisions blocking Russia, China, and other states from making investments in Greenland that could threaten US interests.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the agreement recognizes Danish “sovereignty and territorial integrity” as well as Greenlanders’ “right to self-determination.”
The agreement is expected to be signed by Denmark, Greenland and the US next week in connection with the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York City.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman of the Greenland government, wrote in a statement that the deal is “to the benefit of us all.”
“It is gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western alliance. The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in international cooperation,” Nielsen wrote.
Though Greenland encompasses a territory of over 2 million square kilometers, roughly the size of Saudi Arabia, it has only 56,000 inhabitants.
Greenland contains vast supplies of untapped rare earth mineral resources, which could be used for making batteries, electric vehicles, and other high-tech items, including for military use.
Controlling Greenland could therefore help the US break China’s dominance in the rare earth minerals market.
Most of Greenland is inside the Arctic Circle, where Russia, China, and the US are vying for military and commercial dominance.
“Controlling the island would give Washington an outpost in an important naval corridor connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic, where climate change is melting the ice and making once unnavigable territory a theater of competition,” the New York Times observed on Friday.
“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” Trump stated in January.
Moscow and Beijing recently announced a service to ship commercial goods from China to Europe through the Arctic, cutting transit times by roughly 15 days compared to the route that passes south of Asia and through the Suez Canal.
The Russian and Chinese navies are also active in the Arctic, which is home to critical undersea internet cables.
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