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

Military Intervention Dismissed

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

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments follow a period of increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

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

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that dominion of the island could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

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

Miller continued: “The US is the dominant force in NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, adding: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

These statements followed Trump said over the weekend, fresh from other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, 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

Miller’s comments came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “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 start of this presidency... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, especially following revelations about historical policies of the local population.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”