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Some of you may already be familiar with this, but Canada and Denmark have both claimed sovereignty over the very tiny Hand Island between the northern tip of Greenland and Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Last year Demark brought a Frigate to the Island and landed troops who raiesed a Danish flag on its frozen soil. I bring this up now because Canadian PM Paul Martin is currently visiting the North partially to reassert Canadian claims to the Arctic.
The most well known dispute over Canadian territory is Hans Island, as I said before, which Denmark also claims.
I think this is an interesting issue, especially as it concerns Canada's ability to control its northern territories. As is stands now, there isn't much up there to be concerned about, and consequently Canada has little to no ability to not only control but even to monitor what goes on up there. And as many have sugegsted, with a changing climate and the prospects of natural resource discoveries up there, the place might become more hospitable and more profitable to own, which will likely lead to more claims on the territory from countries like Denmark, Russia and the United States (although to a lesser extent). Currently, Canada has no heavy icebreakers in its Navy, and therfore no military access to much of the Arctic, while Denmark has four and can easily access most of it.
Will this lead to a militarization of Canada and the north? I would think that it would have to if Canada is going to assert sovereignty and maintain control of the area, especially as it becomes more lucrative. What does everyone think? And ultimately, who owns Hans Island?
I'd be interested to hear what Danes think about this, as we don't get that point of view in the Canadian media... to me it seems like Denmark has a strong claim...
IQALUIT, Nunavut (CP) - Paul Martin used the rugged Arctic landscape as his backdrop for reaffirming Canada's territorial claim over the North for generations to come.
"One of the responsibilities of government is to protect the sovereignty of the land - to ensure that the sovereignty of land is going to be there for generations of Inuit and Canadians to come," the prime minister told residents at a high school gymnasium on Wednesday.
"One of the responsibilities of government is to protect the sovereignty of the land - to ensure that the sovereignty of land is going to be there for generations of Inuit and Canadians to come," the prime minister told residents at a high school gymnasium on Wednesday.
The most well known dispute over Canadian territory is Hans Island, as I said before, which Denmark also claims.
The Vikings have returned to Canada and are trying to take over Canadian territory! They have not come in the traditional long-boats, but in a modern, ice-strengthened frigate. This past summer, the Danish government sent the frigate Vaedderen to patrol the waters between the northwest corner of Greenland and Ellesmere Island. The Danes have regularly been sending warships to this area for quite some time now. This year's voyage is notable for where the vessel sailed and what it did. In a dispute of which few Canadians are aware, the governments of Canada and Denmark contest the ownership of Hans Island, a small island located at the northernmost tip of western Greenland. It is a small and almost insignificant island that shows up on few maps. Canada has always maintained that it is Canadian. Because the warship sailed into the disputed waters surrounding the island and may have landed troops on it, the Canadian government took the step of issuing a diplomatic protest to the Danish government.
Before Canadians see this as a return of the attacking, pillaging Vikings, the issue needs to be put into perspective. The ownership of the island is a relatively unimportant issue. The island has no resources and is located in one of the most inhospitable regions of the globe. Its most profound impact will be to produce a minor change in the boundary line between Canada and Greenland. Then why worry? The worry arises when considering the broader ramifications of the dispute. First, Canadians need to be concerned about the precedent that will be established by an unfavourable resolution of this dispute. Most Canadians may believe that the territorial integrity of Canada is complete and without challenge. This is not true. There are now two other current boundary disputes (not counting Hans Island) and one potential boundary dispute in the Canadian north. The United States still maintains that the Northwest Passage is an international strait and not internal waters as Canada claims; and the northern maritime boundary between Alaska and Yukon is disputed. The possibility also exists that Canada and Russia may have overlapping claims for the continental shelf in the high Arctic. But since Canada has never bothered to ratify the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, it has yet to determine the northern limits of its shelf! Thus, it is not yet known if a dispute exists. Given the importance of precedence in international law, the unfavourable settlement to Canadian interests of any of these disputes will have ramifications on the others. If Denmark wins its case, other states may come to regard the Canadian ability to protect its northern interests as weak.
Before Canadians see this as a return of the attacking, pillaging Vikings, the issue needs to be put into perspective. The ownership of the island is a relatively unimportant issue. The island has no resources and is located in one of the most inhospitable regions of the globe. Its most profound impact will be to produce a minor change in the boundary line between Canada and Greenland. Then why worry? The worry arises when considering the broader ramifications of the dispute. First, Canadians need to be concerned about the precedent that will be established by an unfavourable resolution of this dispute. Most Canadians may believe that the territorial integrity of Canada is complete and without challenge. This is not true. There are now two other current boundary disputes (not counting Hans Island) and one potential boundary dispute in the Canadian north. The United States still maintains that the Northwest Passage is an international strait and not internal waters as Canada claims; and the northern maritime boundary between Alaska and Yukon is disputed. The possibility also exists that Canada and Russia may have overlapping claims for the continental shelf in the high Arctic. But since Canada has never bothered to ratify the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, it has yet to determine the northern limits of its shelf! Thus, it is not yet known if a dispute exists. Given the importance of precedence in international law, the unfavourable settlement to Canadian interests of any of these disputes will have ramifications on the others. If Denmark wins its case, other states may come to regard the Canadian ability to protect its northern interests as weak.
I think this is an interesting issue, especially as it concerns Canada's ability to control its northern territories. As is stands now, there isn't much up there to be concerned about, and consequently Canada has little to no ability to not only control but even to monitor what goes on up there. And as many have sugegsted, with a changing climate and the prospects of natural resource discoveries up there, the place might become more hospitable and more profitable to own, which will likely lead to more claims on the territory from countries like Denmark, Russia and the United States (although to a lesser extent). Currently, Canada has no heavy icebreakers in its Navy, and therfore no military access to much of the Arctic, while Denmark has four and can easily access most of it.
Will this lead to a militarization of Canada and the north? I would think that it would have to if Canada is going to assert sovereignty and maintain control of the area, especially as it becomes more lucrative. What does everyone think? And ultimately, who owns Hans Island?
I'd be interested to hear what Danes think about this, as we don't get that point of view in the Canadian media... to me it seems like Denmark has a strong claim...
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