The Independent
· collected 2026-09-19 · by Danica Kirka and James C. Reynolds
Donald Trump has announced that the US and Denmark have agreed a deal to bolster the US military presence in Greenland, after threatening to annex the Danish territory by force for much of his second term.
asserted
US → announce → term
In a social media post announcing the deal, the US president said the emerging agreement “gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”
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agreement → announce → concerns
He added that with the agreement his administration would “immediately” begin the process of developing a larger military presence on the Danish territory.
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administration → add → territory
The deal came after officials from US, Greenland and Denmark quietly negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about a territory of roughly 56,000 residents.
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officials → come → residents
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants control of the mineral-rich island that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, and had threatened to take the territory “the easy way or the hard way”.
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that → say → territory
Greenland’s prime minister showed no signs of yielding in the build up to the summit, saying on Tuesday that the island would not be owned or governed by Washington.
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island → show → Washington
Here’s why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security:
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is → ’ → security
Greenland’s Arctic location is key
Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle.
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two → sit → Circle
That has made it crucial to the defence of North America since the Second World War, when the US occupied Greenland to ensure it didn’t fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect crucial North Atlantic shipping lanes.
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it → make → lanes
Following the Cold War, the Arctic was largely an area of international cooperation.
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Arctic → follow → cooperation
But climate change is thinning the Arctic ice, promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting competition with Russia, China and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources.
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change → thin → resources
The Trump administration charges Denmark with not doing enough to shore up security in the region – something European allies are desperately looking to improve as the US weighs taking the territory by force.
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US → charge → force
Greenland is a rich source of the so-called rare earth minerals that are a key component of mobile phones, computers, batteries and other hi-tech gadgets that are expected to power the world’s economy in the coming decades.
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that → call → decades
That has attracted the interest of the US and other Western powers as they try to ease China’s dominance of the market for these critical minerals.
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they → attract → minerals
Development of Greenland’s mineral resources is challenging because of the island’s harsh climate, while strict environmental controls have proved an additional hurdle for potential investors.
US military presence in Greenland
The US Department of Defence operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which was operated by the US after they and Denmark signed the Greenland Defence Agreement in 1951.
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they → prove → 1951
It supports missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the US and Nato.
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It → support → US
Greenland also guards part of what is known as the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, where Nato monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.
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Nato → guard → Atlantic
Danish armed forces in Greenland
Denmark has moved to strengthen its military presence around Greenland and in the wider North Atlantic in recent years.
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Denmark → move → years
Last year, the government announced a roughly 14.6 billion-kroner (£1.7bn) agreement with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another self-governing territory of Denmark, to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.”
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government → announce → region
The plan includes three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity.
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plan → include → vessels
Denmark also announced fresh investments into the territory’s defence worth some 27.4 billion-kroner in October last year.
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Denmark → announce → October
Upgrades would benefit maritime patrol aircraft capabilities and naval vessels, Denmark’s defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.
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Poulsen → benefit → capabilities
Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and tasked with the “surveillance, assertion of sovereignty and military defence of Greenland and the Faroe Islands”, according to its website.
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Command → headquarter → website
It has smaller satellite stations across the island.
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It → have → island
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is also stationed in Greenland.
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that → conduct → Greenland
Security threats to the Arctic
In 2018, China declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in an effort to gain more influence in the region.
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itself → declare → region
China has also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic links with countries around the world.
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which → announce → world
At the time, the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo rejected China’s move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea, fraught with militarisation and competing territorial claims?”
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Ocean → reject → militarisation
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is worried about Nato’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.
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Russia → say → region
European leaders’ concerns were heightened following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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concerns → heighten → 2022
The Aporia
