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

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

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

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

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

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

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

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control 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, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

He stated there was “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

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

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

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 “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been explicit about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a military base there, critical to its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after revelations about historical policies of Greenlandic people.

However, facing the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”