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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed the use of armed force would not be required to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage 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 Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to purchase 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 dominion of the island could be achieved without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their ownership claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

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

Global Responses

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

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

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

Historical Context and Current Stance

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “This has represented the official stance of the US government since the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, important for its national missile defense network.

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

However, facing the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”