Canada

Denmark, Canada Resolve Dispute Over Arctic Isle

JUN 14 2022·Updated DEC 24 2022

Story

Image credit: Royal Danish Navy/SCANPIX/AFP [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

On Tues., Canada and Denmark signed an agreement to end a 49-year territorial dispute over Hans Island, which is located in the center of the border between Canada and Greenland - an autonomous territory of Denmark.
nytimes
The dispute began in 1973 when Canada and Denmark agreed to create a border through Nares Strait, halfway between the two nations, but couldn't agree on which country would have sovereignty over the island
Forbes Advocate
In 1984, Denmark raised a Danish flag on the island and buried a bottle of Danish schnapps at the flagpole's base. Canadians then planted their own flag and left a bottle of Canadian brandy. This back and forth continued for years and the dispute was nicknamed the "whisky war."
Al Jazeera
Under the new agreement, a border will be drawn across the 1.3-square-km island, with about 60% going to Denmark and the rest to Canada.
nytimes
The deal will take effect after each country completes its internal procedures. In Denmark, the parliament must first give its approval.
Al Jazeera

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

This is how you properly handle an international dispute. In a time when we have witnessed so much war and destruction, Canada and Denmark worked out the dispute through diplomacy and peaceful negotiations. This should send a message to the rest of the globe that taking up arms isn't always the answer.

wapo

Narrative B

The so-called "whiskey war" was never really a conflict at all, but more of a diplomatic afterthought. The island has no mineral resources or anything else of interest, and the back-and-forth between the two nations was largely good-natured.