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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be needed to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” he incorrectly stated, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

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

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss the bilateral ties with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be gained without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

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 came after Trump remarked recently, following events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “urgently”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump 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, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “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 very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated 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 growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”