"Liquor War" between Canada & Denmak

[GordMay]

The Hans Island “liquor wars” between Canada and Denmark may be the cutest dispute in history.
International disputes over territory can be ugly affairs, waged with all the nastiness of a divorce, backed with the force of armies. Just in the last few years, China has built islands topped with military bases to back its claim to vast stretches of ocean, in conflict with half a dozen other Asian countries, while Russia has forged a path of bloodshed and destruction in Ukraine over its annexation of Crimea.
But that’s not how Canada and Denmark roll. Their way of contesting ownership, of an uninhabited island in the Arctic, would better suit a dinner party, than a battlefield: It comes down to B.Y.O.B.
The “Whisky War” is a pseudo-confrontation, between Denmark and Canada, over a tiny island near Greenland called, Hans Island* (‘Tartupaluk’ in Greenlandic). Hans Island is really just a large rock, but it happens to lie smack dab in the middle of the Nares Strait, a 22-mile-wide channel of very cold water, separating Canada and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The island falls within the 12-mile territorial limit of either shore, allowing both sides to claim it under international law.
The militaries of both countries periodically visit to remove the other side’s flag, and leave a bottle of Danish schnapps, or Canadian whiskey.
In 1984 when Canadian troops visited the island, they planted their nation’s flag, and left another symbolic marker as well: a bottle of Canadian whisky.
The Danes couldn’t let that stand, so the country’s minister of Greenland affairs soon arrived on the island, to replace the offending Canadian symbols with a Danish flag, and a bottle of Danish schnapps, along with a note saying “Welcome to the Danish island.”
On 4th May 2008, an international group of scientists from Australia, Canada, Denmark, and the UK installed an automated weather station on Hans Island.
On 23rd May 2018, Canada and Denmark announced a Joint Task Force to settle the dispute over Hans Island.
However, John Robins has filed, and been granted (Feb. 4/19), a mineral exploration claim, under Canadian law, to Hans Island.
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north...land-1.4679142

* It was named after Hans Hendrik, one of the Greenlandic assistants on the 1871 so-called North Polar Expedition, led by C. F. Hall.

[RaymondR]

They could apply the Solomon solution and divide it down the middle and leave a neutral spirit like rum on either side of the boundary.

The covid panic has thrown up some interesting anomalies in government policy.

There is a town on the east coast of Australia where the border between two sovereign states runs down the middle of the street. Normally not a problem as the Australian federal constitution forbids restriction on "trade, commerce and intercourse between the states". However a number of the state leaders have chosen to ignore the constitution and have closed their borders to keep out filthy disease riddled persons from neighboring states. The authorities of the more xenophobic state ran a barrier down the middle of the street to ensure that there was no longer "trade, commerce and intercourse" between the folks on opposite sides of the street even though they had formerly been members of the same community.

As one who was obliged to the marital bed for a number of decades I know from experience that these "my side of the bed" disputes can get really nasty.

[GordMay]

Withdrawal from Disposal of Certain Tracts of Territorial Lands in Nunavut (Hans Island) Order: SI/2019-24 [May 15, 2019]
➥ https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2...-tr24-eng.html

On February 4, 2019, the Department issued a prospecting permit [1], to geologist John Robins, under the Nunavut Mining Regulations for lands involving Hans Island. This action has had a negative impact on the ongoing discussions being undertaken by Global Affairs Canada under the Joint Task Force.
This order cancels his permit.

[1] ‘Bit of a lark:’ Canadian miner files claim on disputed Arctic island
John Robins has filed and been granted a mineral exploration claim under Canadian law to Hans Island.
➥ https://www.abbynews.com/news/bit-of...arctic-island/

[Erik de Jong]

The same 'war' is also fought on the Carey Islands, a little archipelago a little bit further to the south. I visited both places and it is a lot of fun to read all the 'logbooks' that are left at the cairns.

[GordMay]

"Liquor/Flag war" with Denmark over Hans Island set to end peacefully with deal
A deal has been reached, settling the dispute with Denmark, over Hans Island, and is expected to be signed today.
The agreement is expected to divide the uninhabited island between Ellesmere Island, in Nunavut, and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
The island is called Tartupaluk, in Inuktitut and Greenlandic, and has been part of Inuit hunting grounds for centuries.


Questions remain:
Sharing a land border with Denmark, could Canada could now qualify to compete in the Eurovision song contest?
Should we be thanking RaymondR, for brokering the deal [post #2]?

[GordMay]

Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark have resolved a 51-year-old territorial dispute over Hans Island, in the Kennedy Channel, between Nunavut’s Ellesmere Island, and Greenland’s far north. The deal also finalizes the maritime border between Canada and Greenland — the longest maritime border in the world.
The border will run from a small bay, on the northern shore of Hans Island, across the island, to its steep southern precipice. The new border will follow, in line with international norms, a natural phenomena; a rift, in the surface of the island, that runs from north to south — almost, but not quite, through the middle of the island.
Almost 60 percent of the island will be part of Greenland, including the island’s highest point, while the rest will belong to Canada. Both parties will own part of the bay on the north shore; the only landing place on the island.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by GordMay

"Liquor/Flag war" with Denmark over Hans Island set to end peacefully with deal

Questions remain:
Sharing a land border with Denmark, could Canada could now qualify to compete in the Eurovision song contest?

Any country can compete in Eurovision as long as they are members of EBU. Australia and Israel are in the song contest.

[goboatingnow]

EBU = European Broadcasting union

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Anders

Any country can compete in Eurovision as long as they are members of EBU. Australia and Israel are in the song contest.

Interesting.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) owns and operates the Eurovision and Euroradio telecommunications networks.
Membership is for broadcasting organizations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area, as defined by the International Telecommunication Union, or are members of the Council of Europe.

Australia (ABC) and Canada (CBC) are Associate Members, of the EBU.

Any country that is granted Associate Member status does NOT gain access into Eurovision events, with the notable exceptions of Australia, who have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since 2015, Canada in Eurovision Young Dancers between 1987 and 1989, and Kazakhstan, who have participated in Junior Eurovision since 2018, all of which were individually invited.


FWIW: I've yet to see any news, regarding RaymondR's suggestion of a "neutral liquor" [rum?] stash, sat the new border.

[deblen]

So- are we going to plant rock maples along the boundary?

[GordMay]

Another perspective:

Denmark's gunboat diplomacy over Hans Island a warning for future Arctic conflicts
The first part of this narrative, is that the dispute was characterized only by an ongoing, good-natured exchanged of flags and alcohol. While this makes for good stories, it leaves out a very important, and troubling, part of the history.
In 2002, the good-natured exchanged of booze and flags, that had characterized the dispute, was completely upended when the Danes used an ice-capable frigate, the HDMS “Vaedderen”, to land troops on the island. Despite Canadian pleas not to repeat these escalatory actions, they did it again, in 2003, with her sister ship, the “Triton”.
In 2005, then-minister of national defence Bill Graham landed with Canadian Forces personnel on the island.
It was only at this point that the Danes stopped deploying military forces to the disputed island.
More ➥ https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...573?li=AAggNb9