Whisky War

The Whisky War (also known as Liquor wars[1]) is a pseudo-confrontation between Denmark and Canada over Hans Island. Since the 1930s, Hans Island has been in the middle of a disagreement between the two nations.[2]

Not to be confused with Whisky Rebellion.
Whisky War
Date1984-Present
Location
Hans Island
Result Ongoing
Territorial
changes		 Hans Island continues to be claimed by both Canada and Denmark
Belligerents
 Denmark  Canada
Casualties and losses
Snaps bottles and Danish Flags Whisky bottles and Canadian Flags

Background

Hans Island is located in the middle of the Kennedy Channel between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. A theoretical line in the middle of the strait goes through the island. Canada and Denmark could not come to terms on Hans Island in 1973 when a border treaty was signed, leaving a gap in its border description.

Conflict

In 1984, Canada provoked Denmark by planting their flag on the island and leaving a bottle of Canadian Whisky.[3] The Danish minister of Greenland affairs came to the island himself same year with the Danish flag and a bottle of Snaps and a letter stating "Velkommen til den danske ø" (English: Welcome to the Danish Island).[4][5]

Peace efforts

Both countries agreed on a process in 2005 to resolve the issue.[6]

Timeline
  • 1980–1983 – Canadian firm Dome Petroleum did research on and around the island.[7][8]
  • 1984 – Tom Høyem, Danish Minister for Greenland, chartered a helicopter to the island, placing a flag and a bottle there.[9]
  • 1988 – The Danish Arctic Ocean patrol cutter HDMS Tulugaq arrived at the island, built a cairn and placed a flagpole and Danish flag on the island.
  • 1995 – The Danish liaison officer and geodesists Geodesy flew in and placed another flagpole and flag.
  • Late August 1997 – The Danish Arctic/Ocean patrol cutter HDMS Agpa tried to reach the island, but was forced to turn around 241 km (150 mi) from the Island, owing to extreme ice.
  • 2001 – Keith Dewing and Chris Harrison, geologists with the Geological Survey of Canada who were mapping northern Ellesmere Island, flew by helicopter to the island.[10]
  • August 13, 2002 – The Danish inspection ship HDMS Vædderen arrived and erected a new cairn, flagpole and flag, finding the 1988 flag missing and the 1995 flag in pieces.
  • August 1, 2003 – The crew of the Danish frigate HDMS Triton landed on the island and replaced the Danish flag again.
  • July 13, 2005 – Canadian soldiers land on the Island, placing a traditional Inuit stone marker (Inukshuk) with a plaque and a Canadian flag.
  • July 20, 2005 – As a symbolic move, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Graham set foot on the island.[11]
  • July 25, 2005 – A Danish government official announced Denmark would issue a letter of protest to Canada.
  • July 25, 2005 – Deputy premier of Greenland, Josef Motzfeldt, stated the island had been occupied by Canada, stating experts should determine which country the island belongs to.[12]
  • July 28, 2005 – The Danish Ambassador to Canada published an article in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper regarding the Danish view on the Hans Island issue.[13]
  • August 4, 2005 – The Danish Arctic/Ocean patrol cutter HDMS Tulugaq was sent from Naval Station Grønnedal to Hans Island to assert Danish sovereignty. The cutter was expected to arrive in three weeks' time.[14]
  • August 8, 2005 – Danish newspapers reported Canada wished to open negotiations regarding the future of Hans Island. The news was welcomed by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen who stated "It is time to stop the flag war. It has no place in a modern, international world. Countries like Denmark and Canada must be able to find a peaceful solution in a case such as this."[15]
  • August 16, 2005 – According to Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, Denmark and Canada agreed to reopen negotiations regarding the future of Hans Island. Denmark would immediately begin geological surveys in the area, and Per Stig Møller would meet his Canadian counterpart Pierre Pettigrew in New York City in the middle of September. Should they fail to reach an agreement, both governments have agreed to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The government of Greenland agreed to this course of action. Regarding the Danish patrol cutter HDMS Tulugaq then en route to Hans Island, the minister stated "I have instructed the ship to sail there, but they will not go ashore tearing down [the Canadian] flag and replacing it with a new one. It would be a somewhat childish [behaviour] between two NATO allies."[16]
  • August 20, 2005 – Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, stated Canada's claim to the island had a firm basis in international law and would likely not end up before a world court. "Our sovereignty over the island has a very strong foundation," the minister said in a telephone interview with a Canadian Press journalist. [17]
  • September 19, 2005 – According to Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, Canada and Denmark have agreed on a process to resolve the dispute over the island. Pettigrew and his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Møller, met in New York on this day. Pettigrew said the two countries would work together "to put this issue behind us." However Pettigrew reiterated Canada has sovereignty over the island.[18]
  • August 16, 2006 – A Vancouver geologist receives a prospecting permit for Hans Island from the Canadian government.[19]
  • March 17, 2007 – Scientists from the University of Toronto and the Technical University of Denmark announced plans to install an automated weather station on the island, some time in the summer of 2007.[20]
  • July, 2007 – Canada updates satellite photos and recognizes its line constructed for the earlier maritime agreement would have run roughly through the middle of the island; negotiations continue with Denmark over establishing an international land boundary or island sovereignty. [21]
  • May 4, 2008 – An international group of scientists from Australia, Canada, Denmark, and the UK installed an automated weather station on Hans Island.[22]
  • April 11, 2012 – Proposal for Canada and Denmark to split Hans Island.[23]
  • November 29, 2012 – Canada and Denmark settle an agreement on the exact border between them, though without defining the border near Hans Island.[24]
  • May 23, 2018 - Canada and Denmark announce a Joint Task Force to settle the dispute over Hans Island.[25]
  • February 2019 - Canadian geologist John Robins is granted a minerals exploration claim for Hans Island by the Canadian government as part of efforts to help the cause of Canada's sovereignty claim.[26]
  • September 12, 2019 - The Government of Greenland decided to approve a temporary closure of Hans Island for the application for mineral exploration permits. This approval was based on an agreement between the Government of Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark. The Canadian geologist John Robins therefore also had his minerals exploration claim for Hans Island suspended by the Canadian government. The Dane Andreas G. Jensen also had his application for mineral exploration permit rejected by the Kingdom of Denmark, because of this closure agreement.[27]

See also

References
  1. "The Hans Island "liquor wars" between Canada and Denmark may be the cutest dispute in history". September 18, 2016.
  2. Bender, Jeremy. "2 countries have been fighting over an uninhabited island by leaving each other bottles of alcohol for over 3 decades". Business Insider.
  3. Healy, Amber (October 14, 2018). "Why Canada Keeps Leaving Bottles of Whiskey on a Remote Island".
  4. "Canada, Denmark agree to resolve dispute over Arctic island". CBC News. September 19, 2005. Archived from the original on January 27, 2007.
  5. Levin, Dan (November 7, 2016). "Canada and Denmark Fight Over Island With Whisky and Schnapps" – via NYTimes.com.
  6. Frizzell, Sara (May 28, 2018). "Truce? Canada, Greenland, Denmark inch closer to settling decades-old spat over Hans Island". CBC News.
  7. Andrew H. Malcolm (11 Feb 1979). "Dome Petroleum Is Gambling on an Ice-Bound Bonanza". New York Times. Retrieved 23 Feb 2019.
  8. Andrew T.H. Tan, ed. (18 October 2010). The Politics of Maritime Power: A Survey. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. p. 186. ISBN 9781136833434. Retrieved 23 Feb 2019.
  9. "Taissumani: August 29, 1871 – Hall Names Hans Island". Nunatsiaq News. 26 August 2005. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  10. Jane George (9 Apr 2004). "Greenland, Canada squabbling over pet rock". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 23 Feb 2019.
  11. "Hans Island". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  12. Lynge, Mads (25 July 2005). "Josef Motzfeldt: Uforskammet af Canada" (in Danish). Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  13. "Article about the Hans Island issue". AmbOttawa.um.dk. Embassy of Denmark, Canada. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  14. http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/article.jhtml?articleID=267507
  15. "Canada vil forhandle om Hans Ø". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). August 8, 2005. Archived from the original on September 18, 2005.
  16. Avnskjold, Rasmus (16 August 2005). "Ø-farcen er slut". BT.dk (in Danish).
  17. "Canada has claim to Hans Island: Pettigrew". CTV.ca. August 20, 2005. Archived from the original on December 6, 2005. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  18. "Canada, Denmark agree to resolve dispute over Arctic island". CBC News. September 19, 2005. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010.
  19. "Geologist to prospect on disputed Hans Island in Arctic". CBC News. August 16, 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  20. Weber, Bob (15 March 2007). "Canadian, Danish scientists join Hans". globeandmail.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  21. "Satellite imagery moves Hans Island boundary: report". CBC News. The Canadian Press. July 26, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  22. "Arctic Weather Station". Archived from the original on December 21, 2014.
  23. "April 11, 2012 audio report on Hans Island". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  24. "Canada, Denmark closer to settling border dispute". The Globe and Mail. November 29, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  25. "Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (with Greenland) announce the establishment of a Joint Task Force on Boundary Issues" (Press release). Ottawa: Government of Canada. Global Affairs Canada. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  26. Canadian miner files exploratory claim on disputed Arctic island of Hans Retrieved April 6, 2019
  27. Indstilling til Naalakkersuisut om midlertidig lukning af Tartupaluk (Hans Ø) for ansøgning om mineraltilladelser. Retrieved September 12, 2019
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