It’s time for a Free Association Agreement between the US and Greenland

American security interests and Greenland’s economic ambitions require an institutional partnership between the two. Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is part of North America in terms of claim and geography. It is high time to consolidate Greenland’s position in the North American orbit. As the world’s largest island in the North Atlantic, it is an indispensable U.S. ally in the closest arena between the United States and its NATO allies and the authoritarian push between Russia and China. American investment and markets are essential catalysts for stimulating Greenland’s economic growth and prosperity and ensuring its continued integration with NATO as its position within the Kingdom of Denmark evolves in the coming years. The United States and Greenland should explore two proven structures to strengthen their institutional partnership over the long term. Firstly, it is a pact of free association between the USA and Greenland and secondly, the inclusion of Greenland in the USA-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Greenland’s critical role in American security is equal to, if not greater than, that of the Pacific Freely Associated States of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. These islands entered into a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with Washington, granting Washington exclusive military access to their territory and, crucially, the right to deny such access to other powers. In return, the “freely associated” states receive significant economic development aid and investment from the United States. The US-FAS COFAs represent a mutually beneficial agreement that strengthens the national interests of all parties. A similar effort between the United States and Greenland holds promise for the strategic direction of key players in the North Atlantic. As Greenland’s relations with Denmark continue to develop and eventual independence is explicitly mentioned in Greenland’s first National Security Strategy, such an agreement also benefits Copenhagen.

Alaska and Greenland represent two vital pillars of American security interests in the Arctic and are experiencing increasing and coordinated malign activity from Moscow and Beijing. The House China Committee recently asked the secretaries of defense and foreign affairs to assess and address Chinese dual-purpose research and surveillance activities at research stations in Iceland and Svalbard, Norway. The world’s largest island also represents an important source of essential minerals for the United States. America’s security umbrella, investments and markets are the optimal key to the responsible and sustainable development of Greenland’s natural resource wealth, including fisheries, minerals and tourism.

Indigenous Greenlanders have a proud tradition of self-reliance and deep cultural ties to the indigenous people of Alaska and Canada. Greenland’s first ten-year foreign, security and defense policy represents a coherent strategy to reflect its evolving position within Denmark and its aspirations for greater autonomy. “With the right to self-determination and the goal of independence,” the strategy prioritizes increased trade with near neighbors as a path to a self-sustaining economy and expanding the defense agreement with the United States.

Since the Second World War, Greenland has gradually moved closer to North America economically and politically. With the German occupation of Denmark, the island was dependent on American security and economic aid. During the Cold War, the island was an important site for nuclear early warning systems over the Arctic, as well as for observation and control of the narrow passage used by the Soviet Navy to traverse the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. In 1951, Washington negotiated a permanent air base in Thule. Greenland’s autonomous status has steadily expanded since the mid-20th century as the island left the European Economic Community and exercised greater autonomy in its foreign policy.

The benefits of a COFA to its signatories include the ability for their residents to live and work in the United States and to be eligible for federal programs and services. This also includes military service, which Palauans, Marshallese and Micronesians often undertake. In addition, COFA has provided economic assistance for fifteen or twenty years, including the establishment of an economic trust fund and sectoral assistance for education, health, environment, public sector capacity building, private sector development and infrastructure. The United States is committed to defending the Compact countries against coercion or aggression from outside and allows the stationing of U.S. military personnel.

The 57,000 residents of Greenland will also benefit greatly from joining the USMCA. The island’s rich fish harvest will find a market in the nearby neighborhood and attract greater investment in fish processing on the island. Importantly, this will unlock investment for the responsible development of the island’s rich mineral deposits.

Such a comprehensive economic and security agreement with Greenland is the right mechanism at a time when Russian and Chinese adventurism is increasing in the far north and the United States needs a stable presence at the tip of the North Atlantic. The next administration would do well to begin these important conversations in earnest.

Kaush Arha is president of the Free & Open Indo-Pacific Forum and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue.

Alexander Grey served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC) from 2019 to 2021.

Tom Dans is a former Commissioner of the U.S. Arctic Exploration Commission and former Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Image: Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com.