President Donald Trump struck a sweeping agreement with Denmark and Greenland this week granting the United States permanent military rights on the strategically located Arctic island, Fox News Digital reported.
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Dig deeper:
Under the agreement, the U.S. will receive permanent access, basing and overflight rights in Greenland, along with the ability to establish additional military installations as needed, according to a senior U.S. official who described the deal exclusively to Fox News Digital.
The agreement prohibits China, Russia and other non-NATO countries from establishing military bases or maintaining troops in Greenland. It also restricts adversaries from investing in sensitive sectors that could threaten U.S. national security.
What they’re saying:
“This historic deal is a huge win for the United States and the American people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Digital. “Thanks to President Trump’s vision and leadership, this historic agreement permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer.
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“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” Rubio said. “This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland.
“For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an “Infinite Life” Agreement, there is no end!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.
What’s next:
The agreement has no expiration date and does not transfer sovereignty over Greenland to the United States. However, administration officials consider its permanence critical to addressing the security concerns that initially fueled Trump’s push to acquire the territory.
“The difference here is we’re not spending any money for the right” to expand the U.S. military presence, the senior official explained.
The deal is intended to remain in effect even if Greenland eventually becomes an independent country, the official added.
The other side:
Fox News Digital reached out to the governments of Greenland and Denmark for comment.
The backstory:
Trump has repeatedly argued that control of Greenland is necessary for U.S. national security, citing the island’s strategic Arctic location as Russia and China expand their presence and capabilities in the region.
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The agreement expands on the longstanding U.S. defense relationship with Greenland. The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base and has maintained military access to the island under a defense agreement dating to 1951.
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The administration believes an expanded U.S. military presence in Greenland could eventually support Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense system.
“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction,” Trump added.
The agreement allows the U.S. and its allies to make “sensitive investments” on the island, including investments involving telecommunications infrastructure, undersea cables, ports and critical minerals.
The administration is seeking to prevent Greenland from becoming another strategic vulnerability similar to the one it believes developed around the Panama Canal, where Chinese commercial interests have raised concerns that civilian infrastructure could have national security implications.
“We’re never going to face that in Greenland as a result of this,” the official told Fox News Digital.
Officials in Greenland and Denmark, which maintains sovereignty over the self-governing island territory, initially rejected Trump’s insistence that the United States must “own” Greenland.
However, months of negotiations involving Rubio, White House adviser Stephen Miller and officials from the State Department and National Security Council eventually produced an agreement acceptable to all sides, a second official told Fox News Digital.
Representatives from the three countries conducted “various rounds of quiet negotiations that never leaked and never got out there” beginning in February, as Denmark and Greenland came to view the agreement as serving their own security interests.
“They recognize, at the end of the day, that they have a national security concern here as well,” Rubio said. “Denmark and Greenland understand that they don’t have the financial means necessary to defend Greenland if it were to come under attack or be threatened. The United States has the power to do that.”
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