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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to the vast Arctic island.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to take over the Arctic territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, 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 remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened 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 armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously 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, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

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

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

Greenland’s prime minister, 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 “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland 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 ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, especially following revelations about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”