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

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically military intervention would not be needed to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an emergency session to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “As the leading power within the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

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

Global Responses

His comments followed Trump said over the weekend, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the military alliance and “post-Second World War security”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he responded by stating: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the start of this presidency... The president has been explicit about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a military base there, important for its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”