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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has increased tensions on Denmark by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to assume control of the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to purchase Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be achieved without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

These statements followed Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he responded by stating: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, especially following revelations about historical policies of the local population.

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”