Who owns Hans Island?

[Winston]

I'm not disputing where Hans Ø is located. I'm pointing out that your statement of the West Coast being pretty barren is flat out wrong.

[KrazyHorse]

Fine. "Northwest coast"

The major settlements on the western half of greenland occupy what I think of as the South coast, which given Greenland's shape is nonexistent if you want to be pedantic about it.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
Ok, so why then has the Canadian Government decided to work on sending up a navy flotilla to establish sovereignty of the region, rather than bomb them and drop troops?[/ Is it because you're just that much smarter than them about international boundary disputes among friendly nations?

Clearly.

Not true. Sending a ship up there is a tour de force and makes a point. No intention of fighting on either side.

Fighter patrols are just as much a tour de force.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
The fact is that in that part of the world we have the biggest dick.

sig material

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Winston
I'm not disputing where Hans Ø is located. I'm pointing out that your statement of the West Coast being pretty barren is flat out wrong.

He's talking about that region, duh. You're arguing semantics.

[Winston]

After skimming somewhat briefly through government sites and a few news archives, I haven't been able to find any mention of an official Danish position regarding Hans Ø.

It seems the whole affair is being hushed up to a suspicious, almost alarming extent.

[KrazyHorse]

Go ahead and invade. It's been 60 years since we got to kill Euros.

[KrazyHorse]

BTW, the Danish government does not have an official position on Hans Island. That's what an "uncontested territorial dispute" is.

We claim the island. You don't claim it but refuse to recognise our claim.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

We claim the island. You don't claim it but refuse to recognise our claim.

Not true. The whole basis of this dispute is that in 1973 when the borders were drawn between Greenland and Canada, Hans Island was ignored. You saying Canada claims it is just as valid as them saying they do.

[KrazyHorse]

Can you not read, my child?

WE CLAIM THE ISLAND. THE DANES DO NOT.

The official position of the Canadian government is that the island is ours

The Danes make no such claim. They simply refuse to recognise our claim. That's why it was left out of the treaty.

The problem is that our claim goes back to the end of the 19th century through the British claim, which was transferred to us in 1919. The Danish feeling that maybe they should control the island is a more recent development. They have not yet worked themselves up to the point where their position is that sovereignty rests in their hands.

[KrazyHorse]

This is an uncontested dispute.

The day they make a claim of sovereignty it will be a contested dispute.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Can you not read, my child?

WE CLAIM THE ISLAND. THE DANES DO NOT.

The official position of the Canadian government is that the island is ours

The Danes make no such claim. They simply refuse to recognise our claim. That's why it was left out of the treaty.

Jesus, here we go again. How many times do I need to prove you wrong?

"In our opinion Hans Island is part of Danish territory, but the Canadians seem to hold the view the island is theirs," Head of Department of International Public Law at Denmark's Foreign Ministry, Peter Taksoe-Jensen, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Does that mean anything to you?

The problem is that our claim goes back to the end of the 19th century through the British claim, which was transferred to us in 1919. The Danish feeling that maybe they should control the island is a more recent development. They have not yet worked themselves up to the point where their position is that sovereignty rests in their hands.

Again, not true.

The foundations for the dispute were laid in 1973, when borders drawn between Greenland -- which has limited home rule under the Danish crown -- and Canada ignored Hans Island.

But Denmark is cautious about signing away sovereignty over any territory, after the Nordic country was forced to look on as neighbouring Norway discovered massive oil reserves just within its borders shortly after those were drawn in the North Sea forty years ago.

http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/worldnews/2917278?view=Eircomnet

But I guess you know better than Reuters too, right? Just like you have a better idea how to solve this dispute than the government of Canada.

Here's a tip: try actually informing yourself about things before you take a position. It really, really helps. Oh and if you just stop posting about this, I won't think less of you. We're all blatantly wrong sometimes.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Have you read the thread? The Danes have NO ability to hold the island. They can put a ship there. Canada can blow it out of the water. They might as well send out a rubber ducky.

I have read the thread. The Canadian's would have much more trouble with a winter resupply that the Danes. When I was refering to holding the island, I wasn't talking about militarily. It seems that the Danes are better equiped to maintain people there year round.

An overland ice route resupply is much more difficult than a seaborne resupply.

[Kuciwalker]

The Canadians could do a seaborne resupply just as well as the Danes. They both have icebreakers; the Canadian ones simply aren't armed. Armaments are moot in the face of airpower in this case.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
The Canadians could do a seaborne resupply just as well as the Danes. They both have icebreakers; the Canadian ones simply aren't armed. Armaments are moot in the face of airpower in this case.

Okay then. That makes sense.

So what is the basis of each countries claim then? Shouldn't they make their cases to the world court?