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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure 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 needed to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

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

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the region, 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 increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an emergency session to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be achieved without armed conflict due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

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

Miller continued: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

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

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against 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, issued a strong statement, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “This has represented 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 was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid 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.”