« Krakatau: A Natural Wonder of the World with an Explosive Past | Home | Hungry for the Sandwich Islands »
By Islomaniac | July 27, 2007
Hans Island, is tiny island in Canada and/or Denmark that is hotly contested between the two countries. In recent years Denmark has sent soldiers and ships to the island and in 2005 the Canadian defense minister at the time Bill Graham visited the island.
Image source:
New evidence has emerged in the debate and it seems that Denmark is coming out ahead. Canada’s claim has been made based on maps drawn up in the 1960s that showed the island was in Canadian waters. Today a memo was released by the Canadian Department of Natural Resources stating that the location is not where it was originally believed to be. The “new” location of the island puts the international line right through the middle of this island essentially putting the island half in Denmark and half in Canada.
Lines on the map are only part of what’s at stake. Issues like natural resources, northern fishing grounds and access to the Northwest Passage seem to be fueling the dispute.
Retired Canadian Colonel Pierre LeBlanc states that the new evidence should not influence Canada’s claim since it’s based on history, not geography. However, an expert in international relations states that Denmark also maintains that it has been occupying the island and the new information only adds to their arsenal.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this tiny island!
Share This
Subscribe to This Blog
Topics: Islands in the News, Islands and Politics |
Site Feed (RSS)
July 27th, 2007 at 2:53 am
It seems this island is up for sale! Perhaps this is the only island in the world that could be declared sovereign since its jurisdiction is in dispute:
See the for sale listing: http://www.privateislandsonline.com/hans-island.htm