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

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” he incorrectly stated, despite the actual figure 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 increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be achieved without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is on what grounds does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What is the basis 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 safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

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

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

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “This has represented the official stance 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 became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a military base there, important for its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new unity government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”