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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be required to assume control of the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an emergency session 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 small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

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

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

International Reactions

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

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an attack by the US a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

The island's own leader, 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 “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the social media post, he responded by stating: “This has represented the official stance of the US government since the start of this presidency... The president has been explicit about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after revelations about historical policies of Greenlandic people.

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