Vice President JD Vance blasted Denmark's government for failing to protect and support Greenland's population Friday — laying out America's case for island residents to break free from Copenhagen after more than three centuries and turn instead to Washington for security and economic prosperity.

"Our argument is very simple. It is not with the people of Greenland, who I think are incredible and have an incredible opportunity here. Our argument really is with the leadership of Denmark, which has under-invested in Greenland and under-invested in its security architecture," Vance said during a visit to the world's largest island.

"Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," the veep added. "You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people."

Vance, 40, and wife Usha visited the US Pituffik Space Base on Greenland's northern coast and said Americans and Greenlanders can't "bury our heads in the snow" to the island's strategic importance to shipping lanes, military operations, and untapped economic resources.

"When the president says 'We've got to have Greenland', he's saying this island is not safe." Vance said in response to a question from The Post, singling out Russia and China as potential threats.

"A lot of people are interested in it, a lot of people are making a play. We hope that they [Greenlanders] choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and respect their security, because their security is very much our security."

Pituffik, which is home to about 600 people, is the only military base in all of Greenland, and hosts roughly 150 US troops focused on threats such as ballistic missiles. Denmark, meanwhile, has a minimal security presence in Greenland — made up of a few sled patrol units, a single observation aircraft and a handful of patrol vessels.

The vice president's remarks, tailored to the roughly 57,000 permanent residents of the Arctic landmass, were significantly more refined than Trump's blunt call for US annexation — with Vance saying Greenland would first have to choose independence and then enter into partnership talks with the US.

Most of Greenland's residents are Inuit, but the area has more than a millennium of history with Nordic adventurers, including long-abandoned European settlements.

"What we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose, through self-determination, to become independent of Denmark, and then we're going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there," Vance said.