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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by disputing Denmark's sovereign claim to the vast Arctic island.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed the use of armed force would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily 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.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks follow a period of growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called 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 assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

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

International Reactions

These statements came after Trump said over the weekend, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member 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 “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the online image, he responded by stating: “This has represented the official stance of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its national missile defense network.

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

However, facing the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”