It has been described by some as a “pseudo-confrontation”, and by others as a later diplomatic idea. Now, however, the so-called “whiskey war,” which was never really a conflict, has finally been resolved with the formal division of a small Arctic island between Canada and Denmark.
Located on the Kennedy Channel in the Nares Strait, between the northwest coast of the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland and the island of Ellesmere in Canada, the uninhabited half-square-mile Hans Island has no mineral resources or much of interest unless you are a seabird visit.
Cupcake-shaped and surrounded by cliffs, it was for centuries an Inuit hunting preserve. Crucially, however, it has been at the center of a long-running border dispute between Canada and Denmark, through the Greenlandic government, with Copenhagen claiming that geological evidence indicates that Hans Island is part of Greenland. an assertion rejected by Ottawa.
Aerial view of Hans Island. Photo: Rooster Images / Getty Images
Canada and Denmark agreed in 1973 to create a border across the Nares Strait, halfway between Greenland and Canada. But they could not agree on which country would have sovereignty over Hans Island, which is about 680 miles (1,100 km) south of the North Pole. In the end they decided to settle the matter later.
This provoked a largely good defense between the two parties, including ads posted on Google promoting their claims and flag-raising stunts.
The reference to the “whiskey war” came after Denmark’s Greenland Minister of Foreign Affairs raised a Danish flag on the island in 1984, buried a bottle of Danish schnaps at the base of the flagpole and left a note saying, “Welcome to the Danish island.”
The Canadians planted their own flag and left a bottle of Canadian brandy. Since then, the countries, in turn, have hoisted their flags and left bottles of different alcoholic beverages in sudden movements.
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In 2002, Nana Flensburg was part of a Danish military crew that rose to the cliff to perform a flag-raising ceremony. Politiken quoted her as saying in the newspaper on Tuesday that “among the stones in the cairns were many bottles, glasses, etc. with documents that reported previous visits to the island.”
At the height of the rivalry, both sides began buying ads from Google to make their claim after Denmark said it would send a letter of protest for a 2005 visit by then-Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham.
Graham said Canada had always been the owner of the island, prompting Denmark to respond: “Hans Island is our island.” Some Canadians, in turn, proposed a boycott of Danish pastries, echoing the way some Americans rejected “chips” when France refused to join coalition forces in the past. ‘Iraq.
Friction is now coming to an end and the two countries have agreed to split the small island between them under an agreement to be signed later on Tuesday.
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“It sends a clear signal that it is possible to resolve border disputes … in a pragmatic and peaceful way, with all parties winning,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. He said it was “an important sign now that there is a lot of war and unrest in the world.”
The agreement will enter into force once the internal procedures of the two countries have been completed. In Denmark, parliament must give its consent to the agreement.