US Secures Permanent Military Access to Greenland Without Territory Transfer
The US, Denmark, and Greenland have signed a trilateral security agreement that grants Washington permanent military access to Greenland without transferring any territory. The deal, announced on September 18, 2026, updates and extends the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement and its 2004 amendments.
The agreement gives the United States permanent rights to access, base military assets on, and overfly Greenland, including if the island becomes fully independent from Denmark. A prohibition on non-NATO countries establishing military bases or maintaining any military presence on the island aims to counter Russia and China's expanding Arctic ambitions.
The deal includes provisions for screening foreign investments by adversarial nations, adding an economic security layer on top of the military framework. This arrangement has significant implications for Greenland's mining sector, which has attracted interest from Chinese companies in recent years.