NEWS: Canada Sends Navy To Arctic North

Following a spat between Canada and Denmark over an uninhabited rock called Hans Island in the Eastern Arctic, Canada has sent two warships to the Arctic port of Churchill on a mission to display what Canada calls its territorial sovereignty over parts of the Arctic it believes are within its borders.




OOOO...Canada showing her strength???

Interesting and I have not heard about this dispute until now - thanks for the Submission.
Wondering if it cannot be worked out through negotiation what the next step would be, other than missles?
I'm wondering if that would fall under the World Court.. we'll see.

Dallas

We've been arguing with the Danes over this for a very long time now. Canada claims it because it was British and we 'inherited' it, and Denmark claims it because it is closer to Greenland than Canada.

Our Armed Forces use this as a good excuse to get all sorts of cold-weather gear.

My favourite quote from the dispute so far is:

"Notwithstanding the disputed area, the Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry is allowing its cafeteria to sell Danish pastries as a goodwill gesture towards the Danish government and people," ministry spokesman Reynald Doiron said.

www.cnn.com

67 Views, 3 Replies 1 No Vote!

That should be 66 yes votes!

But no!

Arrrrrggggghhhhhhhh!

Wondering where did you and how can I find that voting/viewing infornmation MD ?

Thanks,
Dallas

Well you have at least one 'yes' that I know of. But I may be biased and just want to see Canadian news make it for once.

There are actually Google ads running over this. Google 'Hans Island dispute' and at least one will show up. A Canadian company called ErgoGenesis has put a Hans Island page on their company site and is one of the Google ads.

Take a look around our web page for information on our ergonomic chairs. Special discount given to all Canadians. Danish customers pay full retail.

www.ergo4me.com...

MickeyDee..

Wondering where did you and how can I find that voting/viewing infornmation MD ?

Thanks,
Dallas

Just click on the ATSNN forum from the main page and you will see each article and submission, next to it will be how many views there have been.

Hope that helps,
Mic

Thanks muchly for the info. Got to get to the bottom of this. And still will probably mis a lot (laugh).

Dallas

As usual, there is little made of such minor squabbles. Besides a few references in our national papers and the odd bit on CBC News, it all seems to have been tut-tutted into oblivion. The island is a veritable blip in the vastness of our North, but, because of it's location and the fact that standard borders are drawn a distance from shores, it has the potential of signifigance when we talk shipping lanes, etc.

With the melting Arctic, the age old dream of a Northern Passage is becoming a reality, and i wonder if this is only the beginnings of such controversies.

The Danes and the Canucks seem to have come to an amicable solution, so far, and I hope that's the end of it.

The fact that Canadians need to patrol their Northern borders is good common sense (as Mike Harris would say) and the Canadian Rangers are not enough, IMO, although they are the best of the best.

I think we'll come to a diplomatic agreement on this. Hopefully, they will find in our favour (again, I am biased on this). In my opinion, we have a stronger claim to the island than Denmark does.

And if they don't agree that Hans Island belongs to Canada, the good news is that Denmark spends less on it's military than Canada.

Another Google ad, this one from a Canadian Financial Company called Efficient Market Canada:

If you do dream of retiring somewhere exotic, like Hans Island, you'll need to have saved up the required funds. For somehere like Hans that'll be a lot of money--you'll need specialized equipment, and an extensive support system, just to survive, not to mention bravery, an adventurous spirit, and some considerable luck.

Efficient Market Canada will educate you about the Canadian investment industry, teach you about Canadian mutual funds and exchange traded funds, provide investment book reviews and ultimately help you build a self-directed RRSP efficiently, for the lowest cost. With sound financial planning you should be able to save up enough to fulfill your retirement dreams, even if you dream of something as crazy as living on Hans Island.

How Canadian is that, eh?

Interesting article. Its always strange to see countries fighting literally over rocks. But when you include martime borders you understand that the claims are far larger than mere rocks.


Hans Island

The Canadians claim 200 nautical miles around its territory for its exclusive economic zone.

With the Hans Island being around 0.5 sq.m that means that Canada will claim an exclusive economic zone of about 1270 sq.m around it. Thats a decent enough chunk of sea in which oil could exist.

[edit on 23/8/05 by subz]

Thanks for that, ie:

"Subz:The Canadians claim 200 nautical miles around its territory for its exclusive economic zone.

With the Hans Island being around 0.5 sq.m that means that Canada will claim an exclusive economic zone of about 1270 sq.m around it. Thats a decent enough chunk of sea in which oil could exist."

Dallas

I would think that the 200 mile limit would be from the mainland.

It would seem that the Canadian claim is stronger imo, it's within our recognized boundry. Denmark is claiming that it's a part of their achepeglio(sp). Well all land is connected if you take the water away. Does that make Canada a part of Denmark? Or England a part of France?

I thought that too Intrepid so I checked with the CIA World Factbook to see what they meant by exclusive economic zone.

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - the UNCLOS (Part V) defines the EEZ as a zone beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which a coastal state has: sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents, and winds; jurisdiction with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures; marine scientific research; the protection and preservation of the marine environment; the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone shall not exceed 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

CIA World Factbook notes

The territorial sea makes no mentions of mainland, merely what the country deems its territory, which would cover Hans island right?

Dallas: You're welcome

Right subz but using the same logic that would make Cuba part of the US, being only 90 miles from Key West.

I would think that this would fall under the same rules as applies to Japan.
In order to maintain their control over open ocean, they are constantly "rebuilding" a small isle that is sinking. The keep pouring concrete etc on to it so that it stays above the waterline. Loose the isle and the lose 100's of square miles of territory.
edited for spelling

[edit on 23-8-2005 by kenshiro2012]

Originally posted by intrepid
Right subz but using the same logic that would make Cuba part of the US, being only 90 miles from Key West.

Not really, Cuba is a sovereign state so that doesnt apply.

Obviously Britain and France cannot claim a 200nm EEZ in the English channel either because its not wide enough to accommodate it.

With this example though the Canadians are claiming it as a part of Canada so they can claim a 200nm boundary around it. That doesnt mean that any other sovereign nation that falls within it is automatically theirs.

[edit on 23/8/05 by subz]

I think that Subz interpretation is the one we are using.

Using Danish logic on this issue, Aruba would be part of Venezuela not the Netherlands.

[edit on 23-8-2005 by Duzey]

WHOA!
that rock is mine... It actually was my uncles and was left to me in his inheritance... I can prove it... on the center of the island is a rock...
that rock was placed there by my uncle... it shows his claim...

seriously: I expect lots more of these issues to arise... as well as funny little wars... all for oil and mineral rights...

I'll have you know that rock island belongs to Link, specifically the Legend of Link..A link to the past.

No question about it - it's Hyrule property.