Hans Island, a tiny little glacial rock in the ocean between Greenland/Denmark & Canada has become an important point of conflict between the two nations not because the land itself is valuable, but because of the possibility that a northwest passage will become viable in the future. It seems that Canada and Denmark are now going to try to resolve their issues diplomatically, instead of by sending warships to plant flags on the rock.
Canada, Danes thaw Arctic fight
By JIM BRONSKILL
Sunday, September 18, 2005 Posted at 3:16 PM EDT
Canadian Press
Ottawa — Canada and Denmark will call a truce Monday in the war of words over disputed Hans Island, a patch of Arctic rock each country claims as its own.
Insiders say Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Moller, plan to announce in New York that the two countries will draft a protocol for managing their dealings over the tiny island.
The ministers are at the United Nations for the organization's 60th anniversary summit.
They had previously signalled plans to discuss the Hans Island issue on the summit sidelines. But officials of the two countries have since arrived at an agreement intended to contain — if not immediately resolve — the territorial quarrel.
Neither Canada nor Denmark intends to renounce its claim to sovereignty over the windswept outcrop, meaning they have effectively agreed to disagree about ownership.
Uninhabited Hans Island, the size of several city blocks, sits in the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark.
The long-standing dispute now moves from the political arena to the realm of bureaucrats, who will develop a set of mutually agreed rules.
They would address such issues as notification of the other country in advance of an official visit to the island.
Defence Minister Bill Graham rankled Danish officials by making an unannounced stop on Hans Island during a trip to the Arctic in July.
The visit, which received considerable attention in the Canadian media, touched off a diplomatic dustup between the NATO allies.
The Danish government made it clear to Canada's ambassador in Copenhagen that it frowned upon Graham's move. In a similar vein, Canada had formally protested the planting of Danish flags on Hans Island in 1984, 1988 and 2004.
One source close to the negotiations said the disagreement is solely about national sovereignty.
Canada insists the quarrel is not about the surrounding waters, noting the boundaries of the continental shelf between Ellesmere Island and Greenland were agreed upon in 1973.
There has been widespread speculation, however, that there is much more at stake — such as claims over northern fishing grounds or future access to the Northwest Passage, particularly should global warming make the route more viable.
Earlier this month, Mr. Moller told the Danish parliament's foreign policy committee he expected a peaceful resolution to the disagreement with Canada.
At the time, a Canadian delegation was in Copenhagen, laying the groundwork with Danish officials for Monday's announcement.
Mr. Moller noted during the committee hearing that a Canadian flag hoisted on the island had been knocked down by the bitter winds.
“How do I know that? We're monitoring the island, of course. It's a part of Danish territory.”
Canada, Danes thaw Arctic fight
By JIM BRONSKILL
Sunday, September 18, 2005 Posted at 3:16 PM EDT
Canadian Press
Ottawa — Canada and Denmark will call a truce Monday in the war of words over disputed Hans Island, a patch of Arctic rock each country claims as its own.
Insiders say Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Moller, plan to announce in New York that the two countries will draft a protocol for managing their dealings over the tiny island.
The ministers are at the United Nations for the organization's 60th anniversary summit.
They had previously signalled plans to discuss the Hans Island issue on the summit sidelines. But officials of the two countries have since arrived at an agreement intended to contain — if not immediately resolve — the territorial quarrel.
Neither Canada nor Denmark intends to renounce its claim to sovereignty over the windswept outcrop, meaning they have effectively agreed to disagree about ownership.
Uninhabited Hans Island, the size of several city blocks, sits in the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark.
The long-standing dispute now moves from the political arena to the realm of bureaucrats, who will develop a set of mutually agreed rules.
They would address such issues as notification of the other country in advance of an official visit to the island.
Defence Minister Bill Graham rankled Danish officials by making an unannounced stop on Hans Island during a trip to the Arctic in July.
The visit, which received considerable attention in the Canadian media, touched off a diplomatic dustup between the NATO allies.
The Danish government made it clear to Canada's ambassador in Copenhagen that it frowned upon Graham's move. In a similar vein, Canada had formally protested the planting of Danish flags on Hans Island in 1984, 1988 and 2004.
One source close to the negotiations said the disagreement is solely about national sovereignty.
Canada insists the quarrel is not about the surrounding waters, noting the boundaries of the continental shelf between Ellesmere Island and Greenland were agreed upon in 1973.
There has been widespread speculation, however, that there is much more at stake — such as claims over northern fishing grounds or future access to the Northwest Passage, particularly should global warming make the route more viable.
Earlier this month, Mr. Moller told the Danish parliament's foreign policy committee he expected a peaceful resolution to the disagreement with Canada.
At the time, a Canadian delegation was in Copenhagen, laying the groundwork with Danish officials for Monday's announcement.
Mr. Moller noted during the committee hearing that a Canadian flag hoisted on the island had been knocked down by the bitter winds.
“How do I know that? We're monitoring the island, of course. It's a part of Danish territory.”
