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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to assume control of the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an emergency session to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be gained without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

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

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to give up his “notions of acquisition” and accused the US of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in 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.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a military base there, critical to its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about historical policies of the local population.

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”