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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be needed to assume control of the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, 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 Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

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

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

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

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

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

He added: “The US is 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.”

He stated there was “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

International Reactions

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

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted 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”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to give up his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US has had a military base there, important for its ballistic missile early warning system.

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

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”