India, Jan. 15 -- The question of the fate of Greenland dominated the headlines this week as the United States, Denmark, and Greenland reached an accord on the formation of a high-level working group in the face of deep seated disagreements over the status and strategic value of the Arctic territory.

The talks in Washington, DC, with the US Vice President J.D. Vance and the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen were reported to be candid and constructive but were framed by a fundamental division on the means for the protection of the Arctic territory consistent with Denmark's sovereignty and the Greenlanders right to self-determination.

While much of the rest of the world focuses on legal battles and trade disputes elsewhere, the...