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One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has increased tensions on Denmark by disputing Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically military intervention would not be needed to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to purchase Greenland.

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

Speaking to media, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be gained without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

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

He added: “The US is the dominant force in 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 think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “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”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump 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 military base there, critical to its national missile defense network.

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

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”