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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Denmark does not have a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks 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 emergency session to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained 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?” Miller questioned.

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

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

International Reactions

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

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

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “notions of acquisition” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

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 tag “SOON”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “This has represented the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after disclosures about historical policies of the local population.

But amid 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.”