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July 29, 2005Hans Island And as the rest of the world focuses on the war in the Middle East, Canada and Denmark resume their quiescent struggle for control of Hans Island.
The ownership of the island is disputed as it is claimed by both Canada and Denmark. They failed to settle the issue when borders were drawn between Canada and Greenland in 1973. The border is established in the delimitation treaty about the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada, ratified by the United Nations on December 17, 1973, and in force since March 13, 1974. At that time, it was the longest shelf boundary treaty ever negotiated and may have been the first ever continental shelf boundary developed by a computer program.
And the latest news from the front.
A new development came to light after Canadian Defence Minster Bill Graham visited the island on July 20, 2005. Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the head of the International Law department at Denmark's foreign ministry, said the following in an interview with Reuters on July 25 in response to the event:
We consider Hans Island to be part of Danish territory and will therefore hand over a complaint about the Canadian minister's unannounced visit.[4] This is the first time a Danish government official has claimed the island is solely Danish territory and is not in dispute. A reaction from the Canadian government is to be expected. |
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