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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by disputing Denmark's sovereign claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be required to assume control of the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a one-time colonial possession and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an extraordinary meeting to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that dominion of the island could be achieved without armed conflict due to its limited number of residents.

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?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, it is logical that Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

Global Responses

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “urgently”.

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

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

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... Donald Trump has been explicit about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support 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 demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”