Summary: President Trump has warned that China or Russia could seize Greenland and suggested the U.S. should acquire the island for security reasons. Arctic experts and local officials say there is no evidence of Chinese or Russian fleets concentrated around Greenland. Denmark maintains Arctic defenses (including the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, patrol ships, surveillance aircraft and planned new vessels and drones), Greenland is self-governing with the right to seek independence, and international law bars seizure by force.
Fact Check: No Evidence China or Russia Are "Circling" Greenland, Experts Say
Houses covered by snow are seen on the coast of a sea inlet of Nuuk, Greenland, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
NUUK, Greenland — U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States should acquire Greenland for national security reasons, warning that China or Russia could seize the island. These claims have been met with broad skepticism from Arctic experts, local officials and researchers, who say the evidence does not support the image of foreign fleets prowling Greenland’s coast.
Trump's Claim: Foreign Fleets Around Greenland
Trump: "We need that because if you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and, bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not gonna have Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that’s what they’re going to do if we don’t."
The Facts
Experts say the president’s description is inaccurate. Naval activity by Russia is concentrated in the Barents Sea off Scandinavia, and both Chinese and Russian operations are more commonly observed in areas such as the Bering Sea south of Alaska. While submarines likely operate across the Arctic’s vast waters, there is no evidence of surface fleets "all over" Greenland’s coastline or of forces preparing to occupy the island.
Pituffik Space Base is pictured as Vice President JD Vance visits, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Greenland. (Jim Watson/Pool via AP)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
"That statement makes no sense in terms of facts," said Andreas Østhagen, research director for Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. "There are no Russian and Chinese ships all over the place around Greenland. Russia and/or China has no capacity to occupy Greenland or to take control over Greenland." Local residents in Nuuk expressed similar skepticism.
Trump's Claim: "Two Dog Sleds" Is Denmark’s Defense
Trump: "You know what their defense is? Two dog sleds."
The Facts
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol is an elite Danish unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and sovereignty enforcement across Greenland’s remote Arctic interior, and dog sleds are one appropriate mode of transport in certain areas. But Denmark’s defense posture in Greenland also includes surface patrol vessels, surveillance aircraft, satellite monitoring and plans for expanded capabilities.
FILE - Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance tour the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, March 28, 2025. (Jim Watson/Pool via AP, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Last year Copenhagen and the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands agreed on a roughly 14.6 billion-kroner package (about $2.3 billion) to bolster surveillance and sovereignty capabilities. The plan covers three new Arctic patrol vessels, additional long-range surveillance drones and expanded satellite capacity. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Nuuk, and the U.S. operates the Pituffik (Thule) Space Base, which provides missile warning and space surveillance support for NATO.
Trump's Claim: Historical Basis for Ownership
Trump: "The fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land. I’m sure we had lots of boats go there also."
The Facts
Human presence in Greenland dates back millennia, with the earliest known peoples arriving from what is now Canada around 2,500 B.C. Norse settlers led by Erik the Red arrived around A.D. 985. Denmark’s modern colonial involvement began in the 18th century and Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814. The island achieved self-government within the Kingdom of Denmark in 2009 and retains the right to pursue full independence if chosen by Greenlandic voters.
FILE - Coloured houses covered by snow are seen from the sea in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
International law and post-World War II norms emphasize sovereignty and self-determination rather than acquisition by force. Experts stress that seizing territory would violate established legal and diplomatic principles.
Bottom Line
While Russia and China have growing interests in the Arctic and operate in certain parts of the region, credible evidence does not support the claim that Chinese or Russian fleets are concentrated around Greenland or poised to occupy it. Denmark and NATO maintain surveillance and military assets in and around Greenland, and Greenland is a self-governing territory with a pathway to independence under Danish law.
Sources: Reporting and expert interviews compiled from The Associated Press fact-checks; comments from Arctic researchers at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Danish Institute for International Studies; statements from Greenland officials. Dazio reported from Berlin and Zhang reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed.
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