Thanks to Unindicted Co-conspirator #1 for today’s destination.
The Hans Island dispute (1978-2022) between Denmark and Canada was peacefully settled last year.
The island, sitting between Greenland and Canadian territory of Nunavut, was the site of a territorial dispute that has a complex geo-political origin (explained in this article).
In addition to the geo-political ramifications, both countries allegedly coveted the island due to the large ocean front real estate and the zero-maintenance landscaping.
From the Canadian Geographic article:
The bloodless conflict became known as the “Whiskey War” because, beginning in the 1980s, Canada and Denmark took turns staking their claim to the island by planting flags and bottles of liquor — whiskey from Canada, schnapps from Denmark.
This is how grown-up countries settle disputes. As the article further notes:
It’s also a symbolic rebuke of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Joly and Kofod said the peaceful resolution of the Hans Island dispute is proof that diplomacy works and that territorial disputes can be resolved through the rule of law instead of violence.
The law of unintended consequences: as the article notes, Canada now shares a land border with Denmark, with the following frightening possibility:
A few matters remain to be settled, such as whether Canada’s land border with Europe means it can now enter the Eurovision Song Contest.
